Differential member

ABSTRACT

Provided is a differential member that is used in a surgical instrument, which may be manually operated to perform laparoscopic operations or various surgical operations, to receive an input of two or more rotation motions or translation motions and output a single rotation motion or translation motion.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to differential members, and moreparticularly, to a differential member that is used in a surgicalinstrument, which may be manually operated to perform laparoscopicoperations or various surgical operations, to receive an input of two ormore rotation motions or translation motions and output a singlerotation motion or translation motion.

BACKGROUND ART

A surgical operation is an operation for curing a disease by cutting,incising, and processing skin, membranes, or other tissues by usingmedical instruments. However, open surgery, which cuts and opens theskin of a surgical region and cures, shapes, or removes an organtherein, may cause bleeding, side effects, pain, scars, or the like.Therefore, a surgical operation, which is performed by forming a holethrough the skin and inserting a medical instrument, for example, alaparoscope, a surgical instrument, or a surgical microscope thereinto,or a robotic surgical operation have recently become popularalternatives.

The surgical instrument is an instrument for performing, by a surgeon,an operation on a surgical region by operating an end tool, which isinstalled at one end of a shaft inserted into a hole formed through theskin, by using an operator or by using a robotic arm. The end toolprovided in the surgical instrument performs a rotating operation, agripping operation, a cutting operation, or the like through apredetermined structure.

However, since a conventional surgical instrument uses an unbendable endtool, it is not suitable for accessing a surgical region and performingvarious surgical operations. In order to solve this problem, a surgicalinstrument having a bendable end tool has been developed. However, anoperation of an operator for bending the end tool to perform a surgicaloperation is not intuitively identical to an actual bending operation ofthe end tool for performing the surgical operation. Therefore, forsurgical operators, it is difficult to perform an intuitive operation,and it takes a long time to learn how to use the surgical instrument.

Information disclosed in this Background section was already known tothe inventors of the present invention before achieving the presentinvention or is technical information acquired in the process ofachieving the present invention. Therefore, it may contain informationthat does not form the prior art that is already known in this countryto a person of ordinary skill in the art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Problem

The present invention provides a differential member that is used in asurgical instrument, which may be manually operated to performlaparoscopic operations or various surgical operations, to receive aninput of two or more rotation motions or translation motions and outputa single rotation motion or translation motion.

Technical Solution

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided adifferential member including two or more input units each receiving aninput of an amount of rotation motion or translation motion fromoutside; and an output unit outputting a single rotation motion ortranslation motion based on rotation motions or translation motionsinput to the two or more input units.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately extracta desired output from a plurality of inputs in a surgical instrument orthe like by receiving an input of two or more rotation motions ortranslation motions and outputting a single rotation motion ortranslation motion just by a mechanical structure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a surgical instrument according to a firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed internal view of the surgical instrument of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an operator of the surgical instrument ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 3A illustrates various modifications of the operator of thesurgical instrument according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4A is a detailed view of a first differential pulley of thesurgical instrument of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4B is a detailed view of a second differential pulley of thesurgical instrument of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of an end tool of the surgical instrument ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5A illustrates a modification of the end tool of FIG. 5;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating a pitch operation of thesurgical instrument of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a first modification of the differentialpulley of the surgical instrument illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are views illustrating an operation of a firstmodification of the differential pulley illustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a second modification of the differentialpulley of the surgical instrument illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are views illustrating an operation of the secondmodification of the differential pulley illustrated in FIG. 10;

FIGS. 13A to 13E are views illustrating other examples of the secondmodification of the differential pulley illustrated in FIG. 10;

FIGS. 14 and 15 are views illustrating a third modification of thedifferential pulley of the surgical instrument illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 16 is a view illustrating a surgical instrument according to amodification of an operating force transmitter of the surgicalinstrument illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 17 is a detailed view of a differential gear of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a view illustrating a first modification of the differentialgear of FIG. 16; and

FIG. 19 is a view illustrating a second modification of the differentialgear of FIG. 16.

BEST MODE

The present invention may include various embodiments and modifications,and exemplary embodiments thereof are illustrated in the drawings andwill be described herein in detail. However, it will be understood thatthe present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments andincludes all modifications, equivalents and substitutions falling withinthe spirit and scope of the present invention. In the followingdescription, detailed descriptions of well-known functions orconfigurations will be omitted since they would unnecessarily obscurethe subject matters of the present invention.

Although terms such as “first” and “second” may be used herein todescribe various elements or components, these elements or componentsshould not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used todistinguish one element or component from another element or component.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the inventiveconcept. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. It will be understood that terms such as“comprise”, “include”, and “have”, when used herein, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, or combinations thereof.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the followingdescription, like reference numerals denote like elements, and redundantdescriptions thereof will be omitted.

Also, it will be understood that various embodiments of the presentinvention may be interpreted or implemented in combination, andtechnical features of each embodiment may be interpreted or implementedin combination with technical features of other embodiments.

<First Embodiment of Surgical Instrument> (E3+H1+D3)

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a surgical instrument 100 according to afirst embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a detailedinternal view of the surgical instrument 100 of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the surgical instrument 100 according to afirst embodiment of the present invention includes an operator 110, anend tool 120, an operating force transmitter 130, and a connector 140.Herein, the connector 140 may be formed to have a shape of a hollowshaft, so that one or more wires (which will be described later) may beaccommodated therein. The operator 110 may be coupled to one end portionof the connector 140, and the end tool 120 may be coupled to the otherend portion of the connector 140, so that the connector 140 may connectthe operator 110 and the end tool 120.

In detail, the operator 110 is formed at one end portion of theconnector 140 and is provided as an interface having, for example, atweezers shape, a stick shape, or a lever shape, which may be directlyoperated by a surgical operator. When a surgical operator operates theoperator 110, the end tool 120, which is connected to the interface andis inserted into the body of a surgical patient, performs an operation,thereby performing a surgical operation. Although FIG. 1 illustratesthat the operator 110 is formed to have a tweezers shape, the presentinvention is not limited thereto, and the operator 110 may have variousshapes that may be connected with the end tool 120 to operate the endtool 120.

The end tool 120 is formed at the other end portion of the connector 140and is inserted into a surgical region to perform a necessary surgicaloperation. As an example of the end tool 120, a pair of jaws, namely,first and second jaws 121 and 122, may be used to perform a gripoperation, as illustrated in FIG. 1. However, the present invention isnot limited thereto, and various surgical devices may be used as the endtool 120. For example, a one-armed cautery may be used as the end tool120. The end tool 120 is connected with the operator 110 by theoperating force transmitter 130 to receive an operating force of theoperator 110 through the operating force transmitter 130, therebyperforming a necessary surgical operation such as a grip, cutting, orsuturing. Herein, the end tool 120 of the surgical instrument 100according to the first embodiment of the present invention is formed torotate in two or more directions. For example, the end tool 120 may beformed to perform a pitch motion around a Y axis of FIG. 1 and alsoperform a yaw motion and an actuation motion around a Z axis of FIG. 1.This will be described later in detail.

The operating force transmitter 130 connects the operator 110 and theend tool 120 to transmit an operating force of the operator 110 to theend tool 120 and may include a plurality of wires and pulleys.

Hereinafter, the operator 110, the end tool 120, and the operating forcetransmitter 130 of the surgical instrument 100 of FIG. 1 will bedescribed in more detail.

(Operator)

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an operator 110 of the surgical instrument100 of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the operator 110 of the surgicalinstrument 100 according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention includes a pitch operator 111 controlling a pitch motion ofthe end tool 120, a yaw operator 112 controlling a yaw motion of the endtool 120, and an actuation operator 113 controlling an actuation motionof the end tool 120.

A pitch operation, a yaw operation, and an actuation operation used inthe present invention are summarized as follows:

First, the pitch operation refers to a vertical motion with respect toan extension direction (an X-axis direction of FIG. 1) of the connector140, that is, an operation of rotating around the Y axis of FIG. 1. Inother words, the pitch operation refers to a vertical rotation of theend tool 120, which is formed to extend in the extension direction (theX-axis direction of FIG. 1) of the connector 140, around the Y axis. Theyaw operation refers to a horizontal motion with respect to theextension direction (the X-axis direction of FIG. 1) of the connector140, that is, an operation of rotating around the Z axis of FIG. 1. Inother words, the yaw operation refers to a horizontal rotation of theend tool 120, which is formed to extend in the extension direction (theX-axis direction of FIG. 1) of the connector 140, around the Z axis. Theactuation operation refers a folding or unfolding operation of the firstand second jaws 121 and 122 when the first and second jaws 121 and 122rotate in opposite directions while rotating around the same rotatingaxis as the yaw operation. That is, the actuation operation refers torotations of the first and second jaws 121 and 122, which is formed atthe end tool 120, in opposite directions around the Z axis.

Herein, when the operator 110 of the surgical instrument 100 is rotatedin one direction, the end tool 120 rotates in a direction that isintuitively identical to an operation direction of the operator 110. Inother words, when the pitch operator 111 of the operator 110 rotates inone direction, the end tool 120 rotates in a direction intuitivelyidentical to the one direction to perform a pitch operation, and the endtool 120 rotates in the direction intuitively identical to the onedirection to perform a yaw operation. Herein, it may be said that theintuitively identical direction refers to a case where a movementdirection of an index finger of a user gripping the operator 110 issubstantially identical to a movement direction of the end portion ofthe end tool 120. In addition, the identical direction may not be anexactly identical direction on a three-dimensional coordinate system.For example, the identical direction may refer to a case where when theindex finger of the user moves to the left, the end portion of the endtool 120 also moves to the left, and when the index finger of the usermoves to the right, the end portion of the end tool 120 also moves tothe right.

To this end, in the surgical instrument 100, the operator 110 and theend tool 120 are formed in the same direction with respect to a planeperpendicular to an extension axis (X axis) of the connector 140. Thatis, in view of a YZ plane of FIG. 1, the operator 110 is formed toextend in a +X-axis direction, and the end tool 120 is also formed toextend in the +X-axis direction. In other words, it may be said that aformation direction of the end tool 120 at one end portion of theconnector 140 may be identical to a formation direction of the operator110 at the other end portion of the connector 140 in view of the YZplane. In other words, it may be said that the operator 110 is formed toextend away from a body of the user gripping the operator 110, that is,the operator 110 is formed to extend toward the end tool 120.

In detail, in the case of a surgical instrument of the related art, anoperation direction of an operator by a user is different from and isnot intuitively identical to an actual operation direction of an endtool. Therefore, a surgical operator has difficulty in performing anintuitive operation and it takes a long time to skillfully move the endtool in a desired direction. Also, in some cases, a faulty operation mayoccur, thus damaging a surgical patient.

In order to solve such problems, the surgical instrument 100 accordingto the first embodiment of the present invention is configured such thatan operation direction of the operator 110 is intuitively identical toan operation direction of the end tool 120. To this end, the operator110 and the end tool 120 are formed on the same side in view of the YZplane including a pitch operating axis 1111. This will be describedbelow in more detail.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the operator 110 of the surgicalinstrument 100 according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention includes the pitch operator 111 controlling a pitch motion ofthe end tool 120, a yaw operator 112 controlling a yaw motion of the endtool 120, and an actuation operator 113 controlling an actuation motionof the end tool 120.

The pitch operator 111 includes the pitch operating axis 1111 and apitch operating bar 1112. Herein, the pitch operating axis 1111 may beformed in a direction parallel to the Y axis, and the pitch operatingbar 1112 may be connected with the pitch operating axis 1111 to rotatealong with the pitch operating axis 1111. For example, when the usergrips and rotates the pitch operating bar 1112, the pitch operating axis1111 connected with the pitch operating bar 1112 rotates along with thepitch operating bar 1112. Then, the resulting rotating force istransmitted to the end tool 120 through the operating force transmitter130, so that the end tool 120 rotates in the same direction as therotation direction of the pitch operating axis 1111. That is, when thepitch operator 111 rotates in the clockwise direction around the pitchoperating axis 1111, the end tool 120 also rotates in the clockwisedirection around an axis parallel to the pitch operating axis 1111, andwhen the pitch operator 111 rotates in the counterclockwise directionaround the pitch operating axis 1111, the end tool 120 also rotates inthe counterclockwise direction around the axis parallel to the pitchoperating axis 1111.

The yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113 are formed on oneend portion of the pitch operating bar 1112 of the pitch operator 111.Thus, when the pitch operator 111 rotates around the pitch operatingaxis 1111, the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113 alsorotate along with the pitch operator 111. FIGS. 1 and 3 illustrate astate in which the pitch operating bar 1112 of the pitch operator 111 isperpendicular to the connector 140, while FIG. 2 illustrates a state inwhich the pitch operating bar 1112 of the pitch operator 111 is at anangle to the connector 140.

Therefore, a coordinate system of the yaw operator 112 and the actuationoperator 113 is not fixed, but relatively changes according to therotation of the pitch operator 111. As illustrated in FIG. 1, since ayaw operating axis 1121 of the yaw operator 112 and an actuationoperating axis 1131 of the actuation operator 113 are parallel to the Zaxis, the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113 rotate aroundan axis parallel to the Z axis. However, as illustrated in FIG. 2, whenthe pitch operator 111 rotates, the yaw operating axis 1121 of the yawoperator 112 and the actuation operating axis 1131 of the actuationoperator 113 are not parallel to the Z axis. That is, the coordinatesystem of the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113 changeaccording to the rotation of the pitch operator 111. However, forconvenience of description, the coordinate system of the yaw operator112 and the actuation operator 113 will be described on the assumptionthat the pitch operating bar 1112 is perpendicular to the connector 140as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The yaw operator 112 includes the yaw operating axis 1121 and a yawoperating bar 1122. Herein, the yaw operating axis 1121 may be formed tobe at a predetermined angle to an XY plane where the connector 140 isformed. For example, the yaw operating axis 1121 may be formed in adirection parallel to the Z axis as illustrated in FIG. 1, and when thepitch operator 111 rotates, the coordinate system of the yaw operator112 may relatively change as described above. However, the presentinvention is not limited thereto, and the yaw operating axis 1121 may beformed in various directions by ergonomic design according to thestructure of a hand of the user gripping the yaw operator 112. The yawoperating bar 1122 is connected with the yaw operating axis 1121 torotate along with the yaw operating axis 1121. For example, when theuser holds and rotates the yaw operating bar 1122 with the index finger,the yaw operating axis 1121 connected with the yaw operating bar 1122rotates along with the yaw operating bar 1122. Then, the resultingrotating force is transmitted to the end tool 120 through the operatingforce transmitter 130, so that the first and second jaws 121 and 122 ofthe end tool 120 horizontally rotate in the same direction as therotation direction of the yaw operating axis 1121.

A first pulley 1121 a and a second pulley 1121 b may be formedrespectively at both end portions of the yaw operating axis 1121. A YC1wire 135YC1 may be connected to the first pulley 1121 a, and a YC2 wire135YC2 may be connected to the second pulley 1121 b.

The actuation operator 113 includes the actuation operating axis 1131and an actuation operating bar 1132. Herein, the actuation operatingaxis 1131 may be formed to be at a predetermined angle to the XY planewhere the connector 140 is formed. For example, the actuation operatingaxis 1131 may be formed in a direction parallel to the Z axis asillustrated in FIG. 1, and when the pitch operator 111 rotates, thecoordinate system of the actuation operator 113 may relatively change asdescribed above. However, the present invention is not limited thereto,and the actuation operating axis 1131 may be formed in variousdirections by ergonomic design according to the structure of the hand ofthe user gripping the actuation operator 113. The actuation operatingbar 1132 is connected with the actuation operating axis 1131 to rotatealong with the actuation operating axis 1131. For example, when the userholds and rotates the actuation operating bar 1132 with the thumbfinger, the actuation operating axis 1131 connected with the actuationoperating bar 1132 rotates along with the actuation operating bar 1132.Then, the resulting rotating force is transmitted to the end tool 120through the operating force transmitter 130, so that the first andsecond jaws 121 and 122 of the end tool 120 perform an actuationoperation. Herein, as described above, the actuation operation refers toan operation of folding or unfolding the first and second jaws 121 and122 by rotating the first and second jaws 121 and 122 in oppositedirections. That is, when the actuation operator 113 is rotated in onedirection, as the first jaw 121 rotates in the counterclockwisedirection and the second jaw 122 rotates in the clockwise direction, theend tool 120 is folded; and when the actuation operator 113 is rotatedin the opposite direction, as the first jaw 121 rotates in the clockwisedirection and the second jaw 122 rotates in the counterclockwisedirection, the end tool 120 is unfolded.

A first pulley 1131 a and a second pulley 1131 b may be formedrespectively at both end portions of the actuation operating axis 1131.An AC1 wire 135AC1 may be connected to the first pulley 1131 a, and anAC2 wire 135AC2 may be connected to the second pulley 1131 b.

Referring to FIG. 3, the pitch operator 111 and the end tool 120 areformed on the same or parallel axis (X axis) in the surgical instrument100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. That is,the pitch operating axis 1111 of the pitch operator 111 is formed at oneend portion of the connector 140, and the end tool 120 is formed at theother end portion of the connector 140. Although it is illustrated thatthe connector 140 is formed to have the shape of a straight line, thepresent invention is not limited thereto. For example, the connector 140may be curved with a predetermined curvature, or may be bent one or moretimes. Also in this case, it may be said that the pitch operator 111 andthe end tool 120 are formed on substantially the same or parallel axis.Although FIG. 3 illustrates that the pitch operator 111 and the end tool120 are formed on the same axis (X axis), the present invention is notlimited thereto. For example, the pitch operator 111 and the end tool120 may be formed on different axes. This will be described later indetail.

The operator 110 of the surgical instrument 100 according to the firstembodiment of the present invention further includes an operator controlmember 115 engaged with the pitch operating axis 1111 of the pitchoperator 111. The operator control member 115 may include a relay pulley115 a. Since the configuration of the operator control member 115 issubstantially identical to the configuration of the end tool 120, therelations between the operator control member 115 and other elements ofthe operator 110 and an end tool control member 123 will be describedlater.

FIG. 3A illustrates various modifications of the operator 110 of thesurgical instrument 100 according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

As for H1 of FIG. 3A, as described with reference to FIG. 3, (1) sincethe yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113 of the operator 110are formed independently of each other, the rotation of one of the yawoperator 112 and the actuation operator 113 does not affect the rotationof the other of the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113, (2)the pitch operator 111 is disposed under the plane formed by the yawoperator 112 and the actuation operator 113, and (3) the yaw operator112 and the actuation operator 113 are formed over an extension line ofthe end tool 120. H1 may be seen in the first, fourth, and seventhembodiments of the present invention.

As for H2 of FIG. 3A, (1) since the actuation operator 113 of theoperator 110 is formed on the yaw operator 112, when the yaw operator112 rotates, the actuation operator 113 also rotates, (2) the pitchoperator 111 is disposed under the plane formed by the yaw operator 112and the actuation operator 113, and (3) the yaw operator 112 and theactuation operator 113 are formed over the extension line of the endtool 120. H2 may be seen in the second, fifth, and eighth embodiments ofthe present invention.

As for H3 of FIG. 3A, (1) a first jaw operator 112 and a second jawoperator 113, which rotate independently of each other, are formed inthe operator 110, (2) the pitch operator 111 is disposed under the planeformed by the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113, and (3)the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113 are formed over theextension line of the end tool 120. H3 may be seen in the third, sixth,and ninth embodiments of the present invention.

As for H4 of FIG. 3A, (1) since the yaw operator 112 and the actuationoperator 113 of the operator 110 are formed independently of each other,the rotation of one of the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator113 does not affect the rotation of the other of the yaw operator 112and the actuation operator 113, (2) the pitch operator 111 is disposedon a plane identical to or adjacent to the plane formed by the yawoperator 112 and the actuation operator 113 such that the pitch operator111 is more adjacent to the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator113, as compared to H1 case, and (3) the yaw operator 112 and theactuation operator 113 are formed over the extension line of the endtool 120. H4 may be seen in detail in FIG. 9.

As for H5 of FIG. 3A, (1) since the actuation operator 113 of theoperator 110 is formed on the yaw operator 112, when the yaw operator112 rotates, the actuation operator 113 also rotates, (2) the pitchoperator 111 is disposed on a plane identical to or adjacent to theplane formed by the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113 suchthat the pitch operator 111 is more adjacent to the yaw operator 112 andthe actuation operator 113, as compared to H2 case, and (3) the yawoperator 112 and the actuation operator 113 are formed over theextension line of the end tool 120.

As for H6 of FIG. 3A, (1) a first jaw operator 112 and a second jawoperator 113, which rotate independently of each other, are formed inthe operator 110, (2) the pitch operator 111 is disposed on a planeidentical to or adjacent to the plane formed by the yaw operator 112 andthe actuation operator 113 such that the pitch operator 111 is moreadjacent to the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113, ascompared to the H3 case, and (3) the yaw operator 112 and the actuationoperator 113 are formed over the extension line of the end tool 120.

As for H7 of FIG. 3A, (1) since the yaw operator 112 and the actuationoperator 113 of the operator 110 are formed independently of each other,the rotation of one of the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator113 does not affect the rotation of the other of the yaw operator 112and the actuation operator 113, (2) the pitch operator 111 is disposedunder the plane formed by the yaw operator 112 and the actuationoperator 113, and (3) the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator113 are formed on the extension line of the end tool 120.

As for H8 of FIG. 3A, (1) since the actuation operator 113 of theoperator 110 is formed on the yaw operator 112, when the yaw operator112 rotates, the actuation operator 113 also rotates, (2) the pitchoperator 111 is disposed under the plane formed by the yaw operator 112and the actuation operator 113, and (3) the yaw operator 112 and theactuation operator 113 are formed on the extension line of the end tool120.

As for H9 of FIG. 3A, (1) a first jaw operator 112 and a second jawoperator 113, which rotate independently of each other, are formed inthe operator 110, (2) the pitch operator 111 is disposed under the planeformed by the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113, and (3)the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113 are formed on theextension line of the end tool 120.

As for H10 of FIG. 3A, (1) since the yaw operator 112 and the actuationoperator 113 of the operator 110 are formed independently of each other,the rotation of one of the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator113 does not affect the rotation of the other of the yaw operator 112and the actuation operator 113, (2) the pitch operator 111 is disposedon a plane identical to or adjacent to the plane formed by the yawoperator 112 and the actuation operator 113 such that the pitch operator111 is more adjacent to the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator113, as compared to the H7 case, and (3) the yaw operator 112 and theactuation operator 113 are formed on the extension line of the end tool120.

As for H11 of FIG. 3A, (1) since the actuation operator 113 of theoperator 110 is formed on the yaw operator 112, when the yaw operator112 rotates, the actuation operator 113 also rotates, (2) the pitchoperator 111 is disposed on a plane identical to or adjacent to theplane formed by the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113 suchthat the pitch operator 111 is more adjacent to the yaw operator 112 andthe actuation operator 113, as compared to the H8 case, and (3) the yawoperator 112 and the actuation operator 113 are formed on the extensionline of the end tool 120.

As for H12 of FIG. 3A, (1) a first jaw operator 112 and a second jawoperator 113, which rotate independently of each other, are formed inthe operator 110, (2) the pitch operator 111 is disposed on a planeidentical to or adjacent to the plane formed by the yaw operator 112 andthe actuation operator 113 such that the pitch operator 111 is moreadjacent to the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113, ascompared to the H9 case, and (3) the yaw operator 112 and the actuationoperator 113 are formed on the extension line of the end tool 120.

In addition to the above modifications, various other modifications ofthe operator 110 may be applicable to the surgical instrument of thepresent invention.

(Operating Force Transmitter)

FIG. 4A is a detailed view of a first differential pulley 131 of thesurgical instrument 100 of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4B is a detailed view of asecond differential pulley 132 of the surgical instrument 100 of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 4A, and 4B, the operating force transmitter 130of the surgical instrument 100 according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention includes first and second differential pulleys 131 and132, a plurality of pulleys, and a plurality of wires 135YC1, 135YC2,135J11, 135J12, 135J13, 135J21, 135J22, and 135J23. Although it isillustrated that the first and second differential pulleys 131 and 132include a plurality of pulleys, the present invention is not limitedthereto, and a differential member including a differential pulley and adifferential gear according to the present invention may include varioustypes of rotating bodies.

First, the first differential pulley 131 of the operating forcetransmitter 130 will be described below.

As described above, the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113are formed on one end portion of the pitch operating bar 1112 of thepitch operator 111. Thus, when the pitch operator 111 rotates around thepitch operating axis 1111, the yaw operator 112 and the actuationoperator 113 also rotate along with the pitch operator 111. Also, theyaw operator 112 is connected with the first jaw 121 and the second jaw122 to operate the first jaw 121 and the second jaw 122, and theactuation operator 113 is connected with the first jaw 121 and thesecond jaw 122 to operate the first jaw 121 and the second jaw 122.However, when the yaw operator 112 is rotated, the first jaw 121 and thesecond jaw 122 have to rotate in the same direction; and when theactuation operator 113 is rotated, the first jaw 121 and the second jaw122 have to rotate in opposite directions. In order to implement thisoperation, a separate structure is required.

Thus, two rotation inputs of the yaw operator 112 and the actuationoperator 113 have to be applied to one jaw. Accordingly, a structure forreceiving two or more inputs and outputting a rotation of one jaw isrequired. In this case, two rotation inputs have to be independent ofeach other.

To this end, the surgical instrument 100 according to the firstembodiment of the present invention includes a differential memberincluding two or more input units and one output unit to receive aninput of rotating forces from two or more input units from the two inputunits, extract a desired rotating force through the sum of or thedifference between the two rotating forces, and output the desiredrotating force through the output unit. The differential member mayinclude a differential pulley using pulleys and wires, and adifferential gear using gears, and a differential pulley is illustratedas an example of the differential member in FIGS. 1, 2, 4A, and 4B.Various embodiments of the differential member are illustrated in FIGS.7 to 19.

In detail, the first differential pulley 131 includes a first input unit1311, a second input unit 1312, and an output unit 1313.

The first input unit 1311 includes a first pulley 1311 a and a secondpulley 1311 b. The first pulley 1311 a and the second pulley 1311 brotate together around the same rotating axis. Herein, the first pulley1311 a of the first input unit 1311 is connected with the first pulley1121 a of the yaw operator 112 by the YC1 wire 135YC1 to transmit arotation of the yaw operator 112 to the first input unit 1311. Also, thesecond pulley 1311 b of the first input unit 1311 is connected with theoutput unit 1313 by the differential control wire 135J11 to transmit arotation of the first input unit 1311 to the output unit 1313.

The second input unit 1312 includes a first pulley 1312 a and a secondpulley 1312 b. The first pulley 1312 a and the second pulley 1312 brotate together around the same rotating axis. Herein, the first pulley1312 a of the second input unit 1312 is connected with the first pulley1131 a of the actuation operator 113 by the AC1 wire 135AC1 to transmita rotation of the actuation operator 113 to the second input unit 1312.Also, the second pulley 1312 b of the second input unit 1312 isconnected with the output unit 1313 by the differential control wire135J11 to transmit a rotation of the second input unit 1312 to theoutput unit 1313.

The output unit 1313 includes an output pulley 1313 a, an extensionportion 1313 b, a first differential control pulley 1313 c, and a seconddifferential control pulley 1313 d. Herein, the output pulley 1313 a ofthe output unit 1313 is connected with the operator control member 115by the J12 wire 135J12 to transmit a rotation of the output unit 1313 tothe first jaw 121 of the end tool 120 through the operator controlmember 115. The extension portion 1313 b extends in one direction from arotating axis of the output pulley 1313 a to rotate along with theoutput pulley 1313 a. The first differential control pulley 1313 c andthe second differential control pulley 1313 d are formed at one endportion of the extension portion 1313 b to face each other and rotatearound both end portions of an axis 1313 e that is formed at apredetermined angle to the rotating axis of the output pulley 1313 a.

Herein, the first input unit 1311, the second input unit 1312, and theoutput unit 1313 rotate independently around independent axes.

The differential control wire 135J11 is wound along the second pulley1311 b of the first input unit 1311, the first differential controlpulley 1313 c of the output unit 1313, the second pulley 1312 b of thesecond input unit 1312, and the second differential control pulley 1313d of the output unit 1313 to transmit a rotation of the first input unit1311 and the second input unit 1312 to the output unit 1313.

Herein, the first differential pulley 131 includes the first input unit1311, the second input unit 1312, and the output unit 1313, receives aninput of amounts of rotation from the first input unit 1311 and thesecond input unit 1312, and outputs the sum of the amounts of rotationthrough the output unit 1313. That is, when only the first input unit1311 rotates, the rotation of the first input unit 1311 is outputthrough the output unit 1313; when only the second input unit 1312rotates, the rotation of the second input unit 1312 is output throughthe output unit 1313; when the first input unit 1311 and the secondinput unit 1312 rotate in the same direction, the sum of the rotationsof the first input unit 1311 and the second input unit 1312 is outputthrough the output unit 1313; and when the first input unit 1311 and thesecond input unit 1312 rotate in opposite directions, the differencebetween the rotations of the first input unit 1311 and the second inputunit 1312 is output through the output unit 1313. This may be expressedas the following equation:C=A+B

(where C denotes a rotation of an output unit, A denotes a rotation of afirst input unit, and B denotes a rotation of a second input unit.)

The operation of the first differential pulley 131 will be describedlater in detail.

Like the first differential pulley 131, the second differential pulley132 includes a first input unit 1321, a second input unit 1322, and anoutput unit 1323.

Herein, a first pulley 1321 a of the first input unit 1321 is connectedwith the second pulley 1121 b of the yaw operator 112 by the YC2 wire135YC2 to transmit a rotation of the yaw operator 112 to the first inputunit 1321. Also, a second pulley 1321 b of the first input unit 1321 isconnected with the output unit 1323 by a differential control wire135J21 to transmit a rotation of the first input unit 1321 to the outputunit 1323.

A first pulley 1322 a of the second input unit 1322 is connected withthe second pulley 1131 b of the actuation operator 113 by the AC2 wire135AC2 to transmit a rotation of the actuation operator 113 to thesecond input unit 1322. Also, the second pulley 1322 b of the secondinput unit 1322 is connected with the output unit 1323 by thedifferential control wire 135J21 to transmit a rotation of the secondinput unit 1322 to the output unit 1323.

The output unit 1323 includes an output pulley 1323 a, an extensionportion 1323 b, a first differential control pulley 1323 c, and a seconddifferential control pulley 1323 d. Herein, the output pulley 1323 a ofthe output unit 1323 is connected with the operator control member 115by the J22 wire 135J22 to transmit a rotation of the output unit 1323 tothe second jaw 122 of the end tool 120 through the operator controlmember 115.

Herein, the second differential pulley 132 includes the first input unit1321, the second input unit 1322, and the output unit 1323, receives aninput of amounts of rotation from the first input unit 1321 and thesecond input unit 1322, and outputs the sum of the amounts of rotationthrough the output unit 1323. That is, when only the first input unit1321 rotates, the rotation of the first input unit 1321 is outputthrough the output unit 1323; when only the second input unit 1322rotates, the rotation of the second input unit 1322 is output throughthe output unit 1323; when the first input unit 1321 and the secondinput unit 1322 rotate in the same direction, the sum of the rotationsof the first input unit 1321 and the second input unit 1322 is outputthrough the output unit 1323; and when the first input unit 1321 and thesecond input unit 1322 rotate in opposite directions, the differencebetween the rotations of the first input unit 1321 and the second inputunit 1322 is output through the output unit 1323.

The operations of the first differential pulley 131 and the seconddifferential pulley 132 will be described below.

First, a case where only the yaw operator 112 rotates and the actuationoperator 113 does not rotate will be described below.

When the yaw operator 112 rotates in the direction of an arrow Y of FIG.2, the first pulley 1121 a of the yaw operator 112, the YC1 wire 135YC1wound around the first pulley 1121 a, the first pulley 1311 a of thefirst input unit 1311 of the first differential pulley 131 around whichthe YC1 wire 135YC1 is wound, and the second pulley 1311 b connectedwith the first pulley 1311 a rotate together. However, the second inputunit 1312 of the first differential pulley 131 connected with theactuation operator 113 does not rotate. In this manner, when the firstinput unit 1311 of the first differential pulley 131 rotates in thedirection of an arrow R1 of FIG. 4A and the second input unit 1312 doesnot rotate, a portion wound around the first input unit 1311 of thedifferential control wire 135J11 rotates but a portion wound around thesecond input unit 1312 of the differential control wire 135J11 does notrotate. Accordingly, the wire wound around the second input unit 1312 isunwound as much as the rotation of the portion wound around the firstinput unit 1311 of the differential control wire 135J11, and thedifferential control wire 135J11 moves as much. Concurrently, the seconddifferential control pulley 1313 d rotates in the clockwise direction,and the first differential control pulley 1313 c rotates in thecounterclockwise direction. At the same time, the output unit 1313,which includes the output pulley 1313 a, the extension portion 1313 b,the first differential control pulley 1313 c, and the seconddifferential control pulley 1313 d, rotates in the direction of thearrow R1 of FIG. 4A around the rotating axis of the output pulley 1313a. Then, the rotation of the output unit 1313 is transmitted to thefirst jaw 121 of the end tool 120 through the operator control member115, so that the first jaw 121 rotates in the direction of an arrow YJof FIG. 2.

Also, when the yaw operator 112 rotates in the direction of the arrow Yof FIG. 2, the second pulley 1121 b of the yaw operator 112, the YC2wire 135YC2 wound around the second pulley 1121 b, the first pulley 1321a of the first input unit 1321 of the second differential pulley 132around which the YC2 wire 135YC2 is wound, and the second pulley 1321 bconnected with the first pulley 1321 a rotate together. However, thesecond input unit 1322 of the second differential pulley 132 connectedwith the actuation operator 113 does not rotate. In this manner, whenthe first input unit 1321 of the second differential pulley 132 rotatesin the direction of an arrow R3 of FIG. 4B and the second input unit1322 does not rotate, a portion wound around the first input unit 1321of the differential control wire 135J21 rotates but a portion woundaround the second input unit 1322 of the differential control wire135J21 does not rotate. Accordingly, the wire wound around the secondinput unit 1322 is unwound as much as the rotation of the portion woundaround the first input unit 1321 of the differential control wire135J21, and the differential control wire 135J21 moves as much.Concurrently, the second differential control pulley 1323 d rotates inthe clockwise direction, and the first differential control pulley 1323c rotates in the counterclockwise direction. At the same time, theoutput unit 1323, which includes the output pulley 1323 a, the extensionportion 1323 b, the first differential control pulley 1323 c, and thesecond differential control pulley 1323 d, rotates around the rotatingaxis of the output pulley 1323 a in the direction of the arrow R3 ofFIG. 4B. Then, the rotation of the output unit 1323 is transmitted tothe second jaw 122 of the end tool 122 through the operator controlmember 115, so that the second jaw 122 rotates in the direction of thearrow YJ of FIG. 2.

A case where only the actuation operator 113 rotates and the yawoperator 112 does not rotate will be described below.

When the actuation operator 113 rotates in the direction of an arrow Aof FIG. 2, the first pulley 1131 a of the actuation operator 113, theAC1 wire 135AC1 wound around the first pulley 1131 a, the first pulley1312 a of the second input unit 1312 of the first differential pulley131 around which the AC1 wire 135AC1 is wound, and the second pulley1312 b connected with the first pulley 1312 a rotate together. Herein,since the AC1 wire 135AC1 is twisted one time, the rotating force of theactuation operator 113 is reversed and transmitted to the firstdifferential pulley 131. However, the first input unit 1311 of the firstdifferential pulley 131 that is connected with the yaw operator 112 doesnot rotate. In this manner, when the second input unit 1312 of the firstdifferential pulley 131 rotates in a direction opposite to the directionof an arrow R2 of FIG. 4A and the first input unit 1311 does not rotate,a portion wound around the second input unit 1312 of the differentialcontrol wire 135J11 rotates but a portion wound around the first inputunit 1311 of the differential control wire 135J11 does not rotate.Accordingly, the wire wound around the first input unit 1311 is unwoundas much as the rotation of the portion wound around the second inputunit 1312 of the differential control wire 135J11, and the differentialcontrol wire 135J11 moves as much. Concurrently, the second differentialcontrol pulley 1313 d rotates in the counterclockwise direction, and thefirst differential control pulley 1313 c rotates in the clockwisedirection. At the same time, the output unit 1313, which includes theoutput pulley 1313 a, the extension portion 1313 b, the firstdifferential control pulley 1313 c, and the second differential controlpulley 1313 d, rotates around the rotating axis of the output pulley1313 a in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow R2 ofFIG. 4A. Then, the rotation of the output unit 1313 is transmitted tothe first jaw 121 of the end tool 120 through the operator controlmember 115, so that the first jaw 121 rotates in the direction of thearrow YJ of FIG. 2.

Also, when the actuation operator 113 rotates in the direction of thearrow A of FIG. 2, the second pulley 1131 b of the actuation operator113, the AC2 wire 135AC2 wound around the second pulley 1131 b, thefirst pulley 1322 a of the second input unit 1322 of the seconddifferential pulley 132 around which the AC2 wire 135AC2 is wound, andthe second pulley 1322 b connected with the first pulley 1322 a rotatetogether. However, the first input unit 1321 of the second differentialpulley 132 that is connected with the yaw operator 112 does not rotate.In this manner, when the second input unit 1322 of the seconddifferential pulley 132 rotates in the direction of an arrow R4 of FIG.4B and the first input unit 1321 does not rotate, a portion wound aroundthe second input unit 1322 of the differential control wire 135J21rotates but a portion wound around the first input unit 1321 of thedifferential control wire 135J21 does not rotate. Accordingly, the wirewound around the first input unit 1321 is unwound as much as therotation of the portion wound around the second input unit 1322 of thedifferential control wire 135J21, and the differential control wire135J21 moves as much. Concurrently, the second differential controlpulley 1323 d rotates in the clockwise direction, and the firstdifferential control pulley 1323 c rotates in the counterclockwisedirection. At the same time, the output unit 1323, which includes theoutput pulley 1323 a, the extension portion 1323 b, the firstdifferential control pulley 1323 c, and the second differential controlpulley 1323 d, rotates around the rotating axis of the output pulley1323 a in the direction of the arrow R4 of FIG. 4B. Then, the rotationof the output unit 1323 is transmitted to the second jaw 122 of the endtool 122 through the operator control member 115, so that the second jaw122 rotates in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow YJof FIG. 2.

That is, when the first jaw 121 rotates in the direction of the arrow YJof FIG. 2 and the second jaw 122 rotates in the direction opposite tothe direction of the arrow YJ of FIG. 2, an actuation operation of theend tool 120 is performed.

There is a case where, in a differential pulley including two inputunits and one output unit, the rotation of one input unit does notgenerate the rotation of the output unit and generates the rotation ofanother input unit. In order to prevent this case, according to thepresent invention, in a situation where two operators are connectedrespectively to two differential pulleys, when one operator is connectedwith two input units of each of two differential pulleys, one of thewires connecting the operator and the input unit is twisted, therebypreventing a situation where the input of one operator causes anotheroperator to rotate.

In order to describe this in more detail, a case where the second inputunit 1312 of the first differential pulley 131 and the second input unit1322 of the second differential pulley 132 also rotate in the samedirection as a rotation input of the yaw operator 112 by the rotationinput of the yaw operator 112 connected to the first input unit 1311 ofthe first differential pulley 131 and the first input unit 1321 of thesecond differential pulley 132 is assumed. In this case, the actuationoperator 113 and the second input unit 1312 of the first differentialpulley 131 are connected by the AC1 wire 135AC1 that is twisted onetime, and the actuation operator 113 and the second input unit 1322 ofthe second differential pulley 132 are connected by the AC2 wire 135AC2that is not twisted. Thus, rotations of the second input units 1312 and1322 of the first and second differential pulleys 131 and 132 rotate theactuation operator 113 in opposite directions by the AC1 wire 135AC1 andthe AC2 wire 135AC2. Therefore, the rotations offset each other and donot rotate the actuation operator 113, and the remaining rotation istransmitted to each of the output units 1313 and 1323 to rotate each ofthe output units 1313 and 1323.

This is also applied to the rotation input of the actuation operator113. Thus, the rotation input of the actuation operator 113 does notcause the yaw operator 112 to rotate and is transmitted to each of theoutput units 1313 and 1323 to rotate each of the output units 1313 and1323.

In summary, according to this configuration, the rotation input of oneoperator does not cause another operator to rotate and is transmitted toeach output unit to rotate each output unit.

By this operational principle, even when the yaw operator 112 and theactuation operator 113 rotate simultaneously, the sum of (or thedifference between) the rotation inputs of the yaw operator 112 and theactuation operator 113 is transmitted to the output units 1313 and 1323of the first and second differential pulleys 131 and 132 through thefirst and second differential pulleys 131 and 132 to rotate the outputunits 1313 and 1323, and the rotations of the output units 1313 and 1323are transmitted to the first and second jaws 121 and 122 of the end tool120 through the operation control member 115, thus causing the first andsecond jaws 121 and 122 to rotate according to the operations of the yawoperator 112 and the actuation operator 113.

(End Tool)

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the end tool 120 of the surgicalinstrument 100 of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 5, the end tool 120 of the surgicalinstrument 100 according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention includes the end tool control member 123. The end tool controlmember 123 includes a J11 pulley 123J11, a J12 pulley 123J12, a J13pulley 123J13, a J14 pulley 123J14, and a J15 pulley 123J15 that arerelated to the rotation motion of the first jaw 121, and a J21 pulley123J21, a J22 pulley 123J22, a J23 pulley 123J23, a J24 pulley 123J24,and a J25 pulley 123J25 that are related to the rotation motion of thesecond jaw 122. Herein, the J12 pulley 123J12, the J14 pulley 123J14,the J22 pulley 123J22, and the J24 pulley 123J24 may be formed to rotatearound an end tool pitch operating axis 1231. Although it is illustratedthat pulleys facing each other are formed to be parallel to each otherand have the same size, the present invention is not limited thereto,and the pulleys may be formed to have various positions and sizessuitable for the configuration of the end tool 120.

Herein, the end tool 120 of the surgical instrument 100 according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention includes the end tool controlmember 123 and only two wires, namely, a first jaw operating wire 135J13and a second jaw operating wire 135J23, thereby making it possible toconveniently perform a pitch operation, a yaw operation, and anactuation operation of the end tool 120. This will be described below inmore detail.

The J11 pulley 123J11 and the J21 pulley 123J21 are formed to face eachother and rotate independently around the Z-axis direction. Although notillustrated in FIG. 5, the first jaw 121 may be coupled to the J11pulley 123J11 to rotate along with the J11 pulley 123J11, and the secondjaw 122 may be coupled to the J21 pulley 123J21 to rotate along with theJ21 pulley 123J21. A yaw operation and an actuation operation of the endtool 120 are performed according to the rotations of the J11 pulley123J11 and the J21 pulley 123J21. That is, the yaw operation isperformed when the J11 pulley 123J11 and the J21 pulley 123J21 rotate inthe same direction, and the actuation operation is performed when theJ11 pulley 123J11 and the J21 pulley 123J21 rotate in oppositedirections.

The elements related to the rotation of the J11 pulley 123J11 will bedescribed below.

On one side of the J11 pulley 123J11, the J12 pulley 123J12 and the J14pulley 123J14 are disposed to be spaced apart from each other by apredetermined distance and face each other. Herein, the J12 pulley123J12 and the J14 pulley 123J14 are formed to rotate independentlyaround the Y-axis direction. Also, on one side of the J12 pulley 123J12and the J14 pulley 123J14, the J13 pulley 123J13 and the J15 pulley123J15 are disposed to be spaced apart from each other by apredetermined distance and face each other. Herein, the J13 pulley123J13 and the J15 pulley 123J15 are formed to rotate independentlyaround the Y-axis direction. Although it is illustrated that all of theJ12 pulley 123J12, the J13 pulley 123J13, the J14 pulley 123J14, and theJ15 pulley 123J15 are formed to rotate around the Y-axis direction, thepresent invention is not limited thereto, and the rotating axes of therespective pulleys may be formed in various directions according totheir configurations.

At least a portion of the first jaw operating wire 135J13 contacts theJ13 pulley 123J13, the J12 pulley 123J12, the J11 pulley 123J11, the J14pulley 123J14, and the J15 pulley 123J15, so that the first jawoperating wire 135J13 may move along the pulleys while rotating thepulleys.

Thus, when the first jaw operating wire 135J13 is pulled in thedirection of an arrow J1R of FIG. 5, the first jaw operating wire 135J13sequentially rotates the J15 pulley 123J15, the J14 pulley 123J14, theJ11 pulley 123J11, the J12 pulley 123J12, and the J13 pulley 123J13. Inthis case, the J11 pulley 123J11 rotates in the direction of an arrow Rof FIG. 5 to rotate the first jaw 121 together therewith.

On the other hand, when the first jaw operating wire 135J13 is pulled inthe direction of an arrow J1L of FIG. 5, the first jaw operating wire135J13 sequentially rotates the J13 pulley 123J13, the J12 pulley123J12, the J11 pulley 123J11, the J14 pulley 123J14, and the J15 pulley123J15. In this case, the J11 pulley 123J11 rotates in the direction ofan arrow L of FIG. 5 to rotate the first jaw 121 together therewith.

The elements related to the rotation of the J21 pulley 123J21 will bedescribed below.

On one side of the J21 pulley 123J21, the J22 pulley 123J22 and the J24pulley 123J24 are disposed to be spaced apart from each other by apredetermined distance and face each other. Herein, the J22 pulley123J22 and the J24 pulley 123J24 are formed to rotate independentlyaround the Y-axis direction. Also, on one side of the J22 pulley 123J22and the J24 pulley 123J24, the J23 pulley 123J23 and the J25 pulley123J25 are disposed to be spaced apart from each other by apredetermined distance and face each other. Herein, the J23 pulley123J23 and the J25 pulley 123J25 are formed to rotate independentlyaround the Y-axis direction. Although it is illustrated that all of theJ22 pulley 123J22, the J23 pulley 123J23, the J24 pulley 123J24, and theJ25 pulley 123J25 are formed to rotate around the Y-axis direction, thepresent invention is not limited thereto, and the rotating axes of therespective pulleys may be formed in various directions according totheir configurations.

At least a portion of the second jaw operating wire 135J23 contacts theJ23 pulley 123J23, the J22 pulley 123J22, the J21 pulley 123J21, the J24pulley 123J24, and the J25 pulley 123J25, so that the second jawoperating wire 135J23 may move along the pulleys while rotating thepulleys.

Thus, when the second jaw operating wire 135J23 is pulled in thedirection of an arrow J2R of FIG. 5, the second jaw operating wire135J23 sequentially rotates the J25 pulley 123J25, the J24 pulley123J24, the J21 pulley 123J21, the J22 pulley 123J22, and the J23 pulley123J23. In this case, the J21 pulley 123J21 rotates in the direction ofthe arrow R of FIG. 5 to rotate the second jaw 122 together therewith.

On the other hand, when the second jaw operating wire 135J23 is pulledin the direction of an arrow J2L of FIG. 5, the second jaw operatingwire 135J23 sequentially rotates the J23 pulley 123J23, the J22 pulley123J22, the J21 pulley 123J21, the J24 pulley 123J24, and the J25 pulley123J25. In this case, the J21 pulley 123J21 rotates in the direction ofthe arrow L of FIG. 5 to rotate the second jaw 122 together therewith.

When one end portion of the first jaw operating wire 135J13 is pulled inthe direction of the arrow J1R of FIG. 5 and the other end portion ofthe first jaw operating wire 135J13 is pulled in the direction of thearrow J1L of FIG. 5, the end tool control member 123 rotates around theend tool pitch operating axis 1231 in the counterclockwise direction, sothat the end tool 120 rotates downward to perform a pitch motion.

On the other hand, when one end portion of the second jaw operating wire135J23 is pulled in the direction of the arrow J2R of FIG. 5 and theother end portion of the second jaw operating wire 135J23 is pulled inthe direction of the arrow J2L of FIG. 5, the end tool control member123 rotates around the end tool pitch operating axis 1231 in theclockwise direction, so that the end tool 120 rotates upward to performa pitch motion.

That is, since the end tool 120 includes the end tool control member 123and only two wires, namely, the first jaw operating wire 135J13 and thesecond jaw operating wire 135J23, a pitch operation, a yaw operation,and an actuation operation of the end tool 120 may be convenientlyperformed. This will be described later in detail.

In the end tool control member 123 of the end tool 120 according to anembodiment of the present invention, the end tool pitch operating axis1231 is disposed adjacent to the first and second jaws 121 and 122 (thatis, the end tool pitch operating axis 1231 is disposed adjacent to theJ12 pulley 123J12 and the J14 pulley 123J14, not to the J13 pulley123J13 and the J15 pulley 123J15), thereby reducing a pitch rotationradius of the first and second jaws 121 and 122. Accordingly, a spacenecessary for a pitch operation of the first and second jaws 121 and 122may be reduced.

FIG. 5A illustrates a modification of the end tool 120 of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 5A, an end tool 120′ includes an end tool controlmember 123′, and the end tool control member 123′ includes a J11 pulley123J11, a J12 pulley 123J12, a J14 pulley 123J14 related to the rotationmotion of a first jaw, and a J21 pulley 123J21, a J22 pulley 123J22, aJ24 pulley 123J24 related to the rotation motion of a second jaw.Herein, the J12 pulley 123J12, the J14 pulley 123J14, the J22 pulley123J22, and the J24 pulley 123J24 may be formed to rotate around an endtool pitch operating axis 1231. Although it is illustrated that pulleysfacing each other are formed to be parallel to each other and have thesame size, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the pulleysmay be formed to have various positions and sizes suitable for theconfiguration of the end tool 120.

In this modification, not two pairs of pulleys facing each other, butonly a pair of pulleys (i.e., the J12 pulley 123J12 and the J14 pulley123J14) are disposed on one side of the J11 pulley 123J11 coupled withthe first jaw, wherein the first jaw operating wire 135J13 is wound oneor more times around the pair of pulleys while contacting the pair ofpulleys.

In detail, the J11 pulley 123J11 and the J21 pulley 123J21 are formed toface each other and rotate independently around the Z-axis direction.

On one side of the J11 pulley 123J11, the J12 pulley 123J12 and the J14pulley 123J14 are disposed to be spaced apart from each other by apredetermined distance and face each other. Herein, the J12 pulley123J12 and the J14 pulley 123J14 are formed to rotate independentlyaround the Y-axis direction. At least a portion of the first jawoperating wire 135J13 contacts the J12 pulley 123J12, the J11 pulley123J11, and the J14 pulley 123J14, so that the first jaw operating wire135J13 may move along the pulleys while rotating the pulleys. Herein,the first jaw operating wire 135J13 may be wound one or more timesaround the J12 pulley 123J12 and then wound one or more times around theJ14 pulley 123J14 through the J11 pulley 123J11.

Likewise, on one side of the J21 pulley 123J21, the J22 pulley 123J22and the J24 pulley 123J24 are disposed to be spaced apart from eachother by a predetermined distance and face each other. Herein, the J22pulley 123J22 and the J24 pulley 123J24 are formed to rotateindependently around the Y-axis direction. At least a portion of thesecond jaw operating wire 135J23 contacts the J22 pulley 123J22, the J21pulley 123J21, and the J24 pulley 123J24, so that the second jawoperating wire 135J23 may move along the pulleys while rotating thepulleys. Herein, the second jaw operating wire 135J23 may be wound oneor more times around the J22 pulley 123J22 and then wound one or moretimes around the J24 pulley 123J24 through the J21 pulley 123J21.

By the above configuration, the number of pulleys may be reduced, andthus the size of a surgical instrument may be further reduced.

(Pitch Operation Control and Wire Mirroring)

FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating a pitch operation of thesurgical instrument 100 of FIG. 2.

As described above, the operator 110 of the surgical instrument 100according to the first embodiment of the present invention furtherincludes the operator control member 115 engaged with the pitchoperating axis 1111 of the pitch operator 111. The operator controlmember 115 has substantially the same configuration of the end toolcontrol member 123, and the end tool control member 123 and the operatorcontrol member 115 are disposed symmetrical to each other about the YZplane of FIG. 1. In other words, it may be said that the end toolcontrol member 123 and the operator control member 115 are mirrored withrespect to the YZ plane of FIG. 1.

In detail, the operator control member 115 includes a J11 pulley 115J11,a J12 pulley 115J12, a J13 pulley 115J13, a J14 pulley 115J14, and a J15pulley 115J15 that are related to the rotation motion of the first jaw121, and a J21 pulley 115J21, a J22 pulley 115J22, a J23 pulley 115J23,a J24 pulley 115J24, and a J25 pulley 115J25 that are related to therotation motion of the second jaw 122.

At least a portion of the first jaw operating wire 135J13 contacts theJ13 pulley 115J13, the J12 pulley 115J12, the J11 pulley 115J11, the J14pulley 115J14, and the J15 pulley 115J15, so that the first jawoperating wire 135J13 may move along the pulleys while rotating thepulleys.

At least a portion of the second jaw operating wire 135J23 contacts theJ23 pulley 115J23, the J22 pulley 115J22, the J21 pulley 115J21, the J24pulley 115J24, and the J25 pulley 115J25, so that the second jawoperating wire 135J23 may move along the pulleys while rotating thepulleys.

Herein, the rotating axis of the J12 pulley 115J12, the J14 pulley115J14, the J22 pulley 115J22, and the J24 pulley 115J24 may beidentical to the pitch operating axis 1111 of the pitch operator 111.Also, a bar extending from the rotating axis of the J11 pulley 115J11and the J21 pulley 115J21 may be identical to the pitch operating bar1112 of the pitch operator 111.

The pitch operation in the first embodiment of the present invention isperformed as follows:

When the user grips the pitch operating bar 1112 of the pitch operator111 of the operator 110 and rotates the pitch operating bar 1112 aroundthe pitch operating axis 1111 in the direction of an arrow OP (OperatorPitch) of FIG. 6, the first jaw operating wire 135J13 is pulled towardthe operator 110 and moves in the direction of an arrow PJ1 of FIG. 6.At the same time, the second jaw operating wire 135J23 is unwound fromthe operator 110, moves toward the end tool 120, and moves in thedirection of an arrow PJ2 of FIG. 6. Then, as the first jaw operatingwire 135J13 is pulled toward the operator 110, the J12 pulley 123J12 andthe J14 pulley 123J14 rotate around the rotating axis (see FIG. 5) inthe counterclockwise direction. At the same time, as the second jawoperating wire 135J23 is pulled toward the end tool 120, the J22 pulley123J22 and the J24 pulley 123J24 rotate around the rotating axis (seeFIG. 5) in the counterclockwise direction. Consequently, the end tool120 rotates downward to perform a pitch motion.

In this manner, since the end tool control member 123 and the operatorcontrol member 115 are disposed symmetrical to each other (i.e.,mirrored) with respect to the YZ plane of FIG. 1, the pitch operationmay be conveniently performed. That is, the pitch operation may beperformed regardless of the yaw operation and the actuation operation.Herein, the yaw operation refers to a rotating operation of the firstand second jaws 121 and 122 according to the rotations of the J11 pulley123J11 and the J21 pulley 123J21 of the end tool control member 123 andthe J11 pulley 115J11 and the J21 pulley 115J21 of the operator controlmember 115.

(Overall Operation of First Embodiment)

Hereinafter, an overall configuration for the pitch operation, the yawoperation, and the actuation operation of the surgical instrument 100according to the first embodiment of the present invention will besummarized with reference to the above descriptions.

For the configuration of the end tool 120 of the present embodiment, theoperating force transmitter 130 capable of dividing the operation inputof the operator 110 into a pitch operation, a yaw operation, and anactuation operation is necessary to perform the pitch, yaw, andactuation operations of the end tool 120. As described above, throughthe structure in which the end tool control member 123 and the operatorcontrol member 115 are disposed symmetrical to each other, the rotationoperation of the pitch operator 111 enables the pitch operation of theend tool 120 regardless of the operations of the yaw operator 112 andthe actuation operator 113. However, in order for the operations of theyaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113 to lead to the yawoperation and the actuation operation of the end tool 120, theoperations of the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113 haveto be converted into the operations of two jaws of the end tool 120. Therotation of the yaw operator 112 causes the two jaws to rotate in thesame direction, and the rotation of the actuation operator 113 causesthe two jaws to rotate in different directions. That is, the first jaw121 rotates as much as the sum of the operation inputs of the yawoperator 112 and the actuation operator 113, and the second jaw 122rotates as much as the difference between the operation inputs of theyaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113. This may be expressedas the following equation:J1=Y+A (the first jaw rotates in the same direction in both the yawoperation and the actuation operation.)J2=Y−A (the second jaw rotates in the same direction in the yawoperation and rotates in an opposite direction in the actuationoperation.)

(where Y denotes the rotation of the yaw operating pulley, and A denotesthe rotation of the actuation operating pulley.)

To this end, the operating force transmitter includes a differentialpulley that receives Y and A and outputs the sum (J1) of Y and A, and adifferential pulley that receives Y and A and outputs the difference(J2) between Y and A, and the rotation of the output unit of eachdifferential pulley is transmitted to each jaw of the end tool.

This will be described below in more detail.

First, the pitch operation will be described below.

As described above, when the user grips the pitch operating bar 1112 ofthe pitch operator 111 of the operator 110 and rotates the pitchoperating bar 1112 around the pitch operating axis 1111 in the directionof the arrow OP of FIG. 6, the operator control member 115 also rotatesaround the pitch operating axis 1111. Then, the first jaw operating wire135J13 wound around the operation control member 115 is pulled towardthe operator 110 and moves in the direction of the arrow PJ1 of FIG. 6.At the same time, the second jaw operating wire 135J23 wound around theoperation control member 115 is unwound from the operator control member115 and moves in the direction of the arrow PJ2 of FIG. 6. Then, the endtool control member 123 connected with the first jaw operating wire135J13 and the second jaw operating wire 135J23 rotates around the endtool pitch operating axis 1231 in the direction of an arrow EP of FIG. 6to perform a pitch motion.

The yaw operation will be described below.

When the yaw operator 112 rotates in the direction of the arrow Y ofFIG. 2, the first pulley 1121 a of the yaw operator 112, the YC1 wire135YC1 wound around the first pulley 1121 a, and the first input unit1311 of the first differential pulley 131, around which the YC1 wire135YC1 is wound, rotate together. In this manner, when the first inputunit 1311 of the first differential pulley 131 rotates, the rotatingforce of the differential control wire 135J11 connecting the first inputunit 1311 and the output unit 1313 rotates the output unit 1313 in thedirection of the arrow R1 of FIG. 4A. Then, the rotation of the outputunit 1313 is transmitted to the operator control member 115 through theJ12 wire 135J12 wound around the output unit 1313, to rotate the J11pulley 115J11 (see FIG. 6) of the operator control member 115. Then,when the J11 pulley 115J11 of the operator control member 115 rotates,the first jaw operating wire 135J13 connected therewith is moved, andthe first jaw 121 of the end tool 120 connected with the first jawoperating wire 135J13 rotates in the direction of the arrow YJ of FIG.2.

Also, when the yaw operator 112 rotates in the direction of the arrow Yof FIG. 2, the second pulley 1121 b of the yaw operator 112, the YC2wire 135YC2 wound around the second pulley 1121 b, and the first inputunit 1321 of the second differential pulley 132, around which the YC2wire 135YC2 is wound, rotate together therewith. In this manner, whenthe first input unit 1321 of the second differential pulley 132 rotates,the rotating force of the differential control wire 135J21 connectingthe first input unit 1321 and the output unit 1323 rotates the outputunit 1323 in the direction of the arrow R3 of FIG. 4B. Then, therotation of the output unit 1323 is transmitted to the operator controlmember 115 through the J22 wire 135J22 wound around the output unit1323, to rotate the J21 pulley 115J21 (see FIG. 6) of the operatorcontrol member 115. Then, when the J21 pulley 115J21 of the operatorcontrol member 115 rotates, the second jaw operating wire 135J23connected therewith is moved, and the second jaw 122 of the end tool 120connected with the second jaw operating wire 135J23 rotates in thedirection of the arrow YJ of FIG. 2.

In this manner, when the yaw operator 112 is rotated in one direction,the first and second jaws 121 and 122 rotate in the same direction toperform a yaw operation. Herein, the surgical instrument 100 accordingto an embodiment of the present invention includes one or moredifferential pulleys, so that the operation of the yaw operator 112 isnot accompanied by the operation of the actuation operator 113.

The actuation operation will be described below.

When the actuation operator 113 rotates in the direction of the arrow Aof FIG. 2, the first pulley 1131 a of the actuation operator 113, theAC1 wire 135AC1 wound around the first pulley 1131 a, and the secondinput unit 1312 of the first differential pulley 131, around which theAC1 wire 135AC1 is wound, rotate together. Herein, since the AC1 wire135AC1 is twisted one time, the rotating force of the actuation operator113 is reversed and transmitted to the first differential pulley 131. Inthis manner, when the second input unit 1312 of the first differentialpulley 131 rotates, the rotating force of the differential control wire135J11 connecting the second input unit 1312 and the output unit 1313rotates the output unit 1313 in a direction opposite to the direction ofthe arrow R2 of FIG. 4A. Then, the rotation of the output unit 1313 istransmitted to the operator control member 115 through the J12 wire135J12 wound around the output unit 1313, to rotate the J11 pulley115J11 (see FIG. 6) of the operator control member 115. Then, when theJ11 pulley 115J11 of the operator control member 115 rotates, the firstjaw operating wire 135J13 connected therewith is rotated, and the firstjaw 121 of the end tool 120 connected with the first jaw operating wire135J13 rotates in the direction of the arrow YJ of FIG. 2.

Also, when the actuation operator 113 rotates in the direction of thearrow A of FIG. 2, the second pulley 1131 b of the actuation operator113, the AC2 wire 135AC2 wound around the second pulley 1131 b, and thesecond input unit 1322 of the second differential pulley 132, aroundwhich the AC2 wire 135AC2 is wound, rotate together. In this manner,when the second input unit 1322 of the second differential pulley 132rotates, the rotating force of the differential control wire 135J21connecting the second input unit 1322 and the output unit 1323 rotatesthe output unit 1323 in the direction of the arrow R4 of FIG. 4A. Then,the rotation of the output unit 1323 is transmitted to the operatorcontrol member 115 through the J22 wire 135J22 wound around the outputunit 1323, to rotate the J21 pulley 115J21 (see FIG. 6) of the operatorcontrol member 115. Then, when the J21 pulley 115J21 of the operatorcontrol member 115 rotates, the second jaw operating wire 135J23connected therewith is rotated, and the second jaw 122 of the end tool120 connected with the second jaw operating wire 135J23 rotates in adirection opposite to the direction of the arrow YJ of FIG. 2.

In this manner, when the actuation operator 113 is rotated in onedirection, the first and second jaws 121 and 122 rotate in oppositedirections to perform an actuation operation. Herein, the surgicalinstrument 100 according to an embodiment of the present inventionincludes one or more differential pulleys, so that the operation of theactuation operator 113 is not accompanied by the operation of the yawoperator 112.

Thus, according to the present invention, a surgical instrumentperforming an output operation of an end tool by the independent inputsof a pitch operator, a yaw operator, and an actuation operator may beimplemented solely by a mechanical configuration without using motors,electronic control, or software. That is, since the pitch operation, theyaw operation, and the actuation operation, which affect each other, areseparated from each other solely by a mechanism, the configuration ofthe surgical instrument may be significantly simplified.

Also, the rotating force of the operator 110 may be transmitted to theend tool 120 solely by a minimum wire and pulley structure. Inparticular, according to the present invention, since the operationdirection of the operator 110 is intuitively identical to the operationdirection of the end tool 120, the convenience of a surgical operatormay be improved and the accuracy of a surgical operation may beimproved. In addition, since the end tool 120 includes only two wires,namely, the first jaw operating wire 135J13 and the second jaw operatingwire 135J23, the pitch operation, the yaw operation, and the actuationoperation of the end tool 120 may be conveniently performed.Furthermore, since the end tool control member 123 and the operatorcontrol member 115 are disposed symmetrical to each other (i.e.,mirrored) about the YZ plane of FIG. 1, the pitch operation may beconveniently performed. That is, the pitch operation may be performedregardless of the yaw operation and the actuation operation.

Mode of the Invention

<First Modification of Differential Pulley> (D1)

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a first modification of the differentialpulley of the surgical instrument 100 illustrated in FIG. 2, and FIGS. 8and 9 are views illustrating an operation of the first modification ofthe differential pulley illustrated in FIG. 7.

As described above, the differential pulley according to the presentinvention includes two or more input units and one output unit, receivesan input of rotating forces from the two or more input units, extracts adesired rotating force from the sum of (or the difference between) theinput rotating forces, and outputs the desired rotating force throughthe output unit.

Referring to FIG. 7, the first modification of the differential pulleyof the surgical instrument 100 includes a first input unit 1361, asecond input unit 1362, an output unit 1363, and a differential controlmember 1364.

The first input unit 1361 includes a first pulley 1361P1, a secondpulley 1361P2, and a first input wire 1361W. The first pulley 1361P1 andthe second pulley 1361P2 are connected by the first input wire 1361W torotate together.

The second input unit 1362 includes a first pulley 1362P1, a secondpulley 1362P2, and a second input wire 1362W. The first pulley 1362P1and the second pulley 1362P2 are connected by the second input wire1362W to rotate together.

The output unit 1363 includes an output pulley 1363P and an output wire1363W. The output pulley 1363P and the differential control member 1364are connected by the output wire 1363W. When the differential controlmember 1364 translates, the output pulley 1363P connected with thedifferential control member 1364 by the output wire 1363W rotates.

The differential control member 1364 includes a first pulley 1364P1, asecond pulley 1364P2, and a differential control wire 1364W. Inaddition, the differential control member 1364 includes a firstdifferential joint 1364J1 and a second differential joint 1364J2. Thefirst pulley 1364P1 and the second pulley 1364P2 are connected by thedifferential control wire 1364W to rotate together. The differentialcontrol member 1364 may translate in the direction of an arrow T of FIG.7. For example, the differential control member 1364 may be installed ona guide rail (not illustrated) and may translate along the guide rail inthe direction of the arrow T of FIG. 7.

The first differential joint 1364J1 may be coupled to the first inputwire 1361W and the differential control wire 1364W to transmit arotation of the first input wire 1361W to the differential control wire1364W. The second differential joint 1364J2 may be coupled to the secondinput wire 1362W and the differential control wire 1364W to transmit arotation of the second input wire 1362W to the differential control wire1364W.

An operation of the first modification of the differential pulley willbe described below.

First, a case where the first input unit 1361 rotates will be describedbelow.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, when the first pulley 1361P1 of the firstinput unit 1361 rotates in the direction of an arrow A1 of FIG. 8, thefirst input wire 1361W connected therewith moves along the first pulley1361P1 in the direction of an arrow A2 of FIG. 8. Also, since the firstinput wire 1361W and the differential control wire 1364W are coupled tothe first differential joint 1364J1, when the first input wire 1361Wmoves in the direction of the arrow A2 of FIG. 8, the first differentialjoint 1364J1 connected therewith also moves in the direction of thearrow A2. In this case, when the second input unit 1362 is fixed due tono rotation input, the second differential joint 1364J2 is also fixed.Thus, the differential control member 1364 translates in the directionof an arrow A3 as much as the movement of the first differential joint1364J1, the first pulley 1364P1, the second pulley 1364P2, and thedifferential control wire 1364W also move together as much, and thefirst pulley 1364P1 and the second pulley 1364P2 rotate in thecounterclockwise direction. When the differential control member 1364moves in the direction of the arrow A3, the output wire 1363W connectedtherewith moves in the direction of an arrow A4 and thus the outputpulley 1363P connected with the output wire 1363W rotates in thedirection of an arrow C.

According to this configuration of the present invention, the rotationof the first input unit 1361 does not affect the second input unit 1362and may be transmitted only to the output unit 1363 to rotate the outputpulley 1363P.

A case where the second input unit 1372 rotates will be described below.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 9, when the second pulley 1362P2 of the secondinput unit 1362 rotates in the direction of an arrow B1 of FIG. 9, thesecond input wire 1362W connected therewith moves along the first pulley1362P1 in the direction of an arrow B2 of FIG. 9. Also, since the secondinput wire 1362W and the differential control wire 1364W are coupled tothe second differential joint 1364J2, when the second input wire 1362Wmoves in the direction of the arrow B2 of FIG. 9, the seconddifferential joint 1364J2 connected therewith also moves in thedirection of the arrow B2. In this case, when the first input unit 1361is fixed due to no rotation input, the first differential joint 1364J1is also fixed. Thus, the differential control member 1364 translates inthe direction of an arrow B3 as much as the movement of the seconddifferential joint 1364J2, the first pulley 1364P1, the second pulley1364P2, and the differential control wire 1364W also move together asmuch, and the first pulley 1364P1 and the second pulley 1364P2 rotate inthe clockwise direction. When the differential control member 1364 movesin the direction of the arrow B3, the output wire 1363W connectedtherewith moves in the direction of an arrow B4 and thus the outputpulley 1363P connected with the output wire 1363W rotates in thedirection of the arrow C.

According to this configuration of the present invention, the rotationof the second input unit 1362 does not affect the first input unit 1361and may be transmitted only to the output unit 1363 to rotate the outputpulley 1363P.

A case where the first input unit 1371 and the second input unit 1372rotate together will be described below.

When the first pulley 1361P1 of the first input unit 1361 rotates in theclockwise direction, the output pulley 1363P of the output unit 1363rotates in the counterclockwise direction; and when the first pulley1362P1 of the second input unit 1362 rotates in the counterclockwisedirection, the output pulley 1363P of the output unit 1363 rotates inthe counterclockwise direction. Thus, when the first pulley 1361P1 ofthe first input unit 1361 and the second pulley 1362P1 of the secondinput unit 1362 rotate in opposite directions, the output pulley 1363Pof the output unit 1363 rotates as much as the sum of the two rotatingforces. On the other hand, when the first pulley 1361P1 of the firstinput unit 1361 and the second pulley 1362P1 of the second input unit1362 rotate in the same direction, the output pulley 1363P of the outputunit 1363 rotates as much as the difference between the two rotatingforces.

Thus, according to the present invention, when only one of the two ormore input units rotates, only the output unit may be rotated withoutrotating other input units. Also, when the two or more input unitsrotate together, a single rotating force equal to the sum of (or thedifference between) the rotating forces of the two input units may beoutput through the output unit.

The differential pulley of the third modification is a modification ofthe differential pulley illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B, and an exampleof applying the differential pulley of the third modification to thesurgical instrument will not be described herein.

<Second Modification of Differential Pulley> (D2)

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a second modification of the differentialpulley of the surgical instrument 100 illustrated in FIG. 2, and FIGS.11 and 12 are views illustrating an operation of the second modificationof the differential pulley illustrated in FIG. 10.

As described above, the differential pulley according to the presentinvention includes two or more input units and one output unit, andoutputs rotating forces, which are input from the two or more inputunits, as a desired rotating force, while each of the two or more inputunits does not affect other input units.

Referring to FIG. 10, the second modification of the differential pulleyof the surgical instrument includes a first input unit 1371, a secondinput unit 1372, an output unit 1373, a first differential controlmember 1374, a second differential control member 1375, and adifferential control wire 1376.

The first input unit 1371 includes a first input pulley 1371P and afirst input wire 1371W. The first input pulley 1371P is connected withthe first input wire 1371W to rotate along with the first input wire1371W.

The second input unit 1372 includes a second input pulley 1372P and asecond input wire 1372W. The second input pulley 1372P is connected withthe second input wire 1372W to rotate along with the second input wire1372W.

The output unit 1373 includes an output pulley 1373P. The output pulley1373P is connected with the differential control wire 1376 to rotatealong with the differential control wire 1376.

The first differential control member 1374 includes a first pulley1374P1, a second pulley 1374P2, and a first differential control bar1374 a. The first pulley 1374P1 and the second pulley 1374P2 arerespectively formed at both end portions of the first differentialcontrol bar 1374 a and may rotate independently. Also, both end portionsof the first input wire 1371W are coupled to both end portions of thefirst differential control member 1374. The first differential controlmember 1374 may translate in the direction of an arrow T1 of FIG. 10.For example, the first differential control member 1374 may be installedon a guide rail (not illustrated), and may translate along the guiderail in the direction of the arrow T1 of FIG. 10. Thus, when the firstinput pulley 1371P rotates, the first input wire 1371W connectedtherewith rotates, and when the first input wire 1371W rotates, thefirst differential control member 1374 coupled to both end portionsthereof translates in the direction of the arrow T1 of FIG. 10.

The second differential control member 1375 includes a first pulley1375P1, a second pulley 1375P2, and a second differential control bar1375 a. The first pulley 1375P1 and the second pulley 1375P2 arerespectively formed at both end portions of the second differentialcontrol bar 1375 a and may rotate independently. Also, both end portionsof the second input wire 1372W are coupled to both end portions of thesecond differential control member 1375, respectively. The seconddifferential control member 1375 may translate in the direction of anarrow T2 of FIG. 10. For example, the second differential control member1375 may be installed on a guide rail (not illustrated), and maytranslate along the guide rail in the direction of the arrow T2 of FIG.10. Thus, when the second input pulley 1372P rotates, the second inputwire 1372W connected therewith rotates, and when the second input wire1372W rotates, the second differential control member 1375 coupled toboth end portions thereof translates in the direction of the arrow T2 ofFIG. 10.

The differential control wire 1376 is connected along the first pulley1374P1 of the first differential control member 1374, the first pulley1375P1 of the second differential control member 1375, the second pulley1374P2 of the first differential control member 1374, and the secondpulley 1375P2 of the second differential control member 1375. Thedifferential control wire 1376 is wound along the four pulleys, and isformed to move according to the translation motions of the firstdifferential control member 1374 and the second differential controlmember 1375. Herein, a fixed point F1 may be formed at the differentialcontrol wire 1376, as a reference point for the movement of thedifferential control wire 1376.

An operation of the second modification of the differential pulley willbe described below.

First, a case where the first input unit 1371 rotates will be describedbelow.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, when the first input pulley 1371P1 of thefirst input unit 1371 rotates in the direction of an arrow A1 of FIG.11, the first input wire 1371W connected therewith moves along the firstinput pulley 1371P1 in the direction of an arrow A2 of FIG. 11. Sincethe first input wire 1371W is connected with the first differentialcontrol member 1374, when the first input wire 1371W moves in thedirection of the arrow A2 of FIG. 11, the first differential controlmember 1374 translates in the direction of an arrow A3. When the firstdifferential control member 1374 translates in the direction of thearrow A3, a point P1 of the differential control wire 1376 of FIG. 10moves to a point P1′ of the differential control wire 1376 of FIG. 11,and thus the differential control wire 1376 moves in the direction of anarrow A4 of FIG. 11. Thus, the output pulley 1373P connected with thedifferential control wire 1376 rotates in the direction of an arrow C.In this case, the first pulley 1374P1 and the second pulley 1374P2 ofthe first differential control member 1374 and the second pulley 1375P2of the second differential control member 1375 rotate in the clockwisedirection.

According to this configuration of the present invention, the rotationof the first input unit 1371 does not affect the second input unit 1372and may be transmitted only to the output unit 1373 to rotate the outputpulley 1373P.

A case where the second input unit 1372 rotates will be described below.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 12, when the second input pulley 1372P of thesecond input unit 1372 rotates in the direction of an arrow B1 of FIG.12, the second input wire 1372W connected therewith moves along thesecond input pulley 1372P in the direction of an arrow B2 of FIG. 12.Since the second input wire 1372W is connected with the seconddifferential control member 1375, when the second input wire 1372W movesin the direction of the arrow B2 of FIG. 12, the second differentialcontrol member 1375 translates in the direction of an arrow B3. When thesecond differential control member 1375 translates in the direction ofthe arrow B3, a point P2 of the differential control wire 1376 of FIG.10 moves to a point P2′ of the differential control wire 1376 of FIG.12, and thus the differential control wire 1376 moves in the directionof an arrow B4 of FIG. 12. Thus, the output pulley 1373P connected withthe differential control wire 1376 rotates in the direction of an arrowC. In this case, the first pulley 1375P1 and the second pulley 1375P2 ofthe second differential control member 1375 and the first pulley 1374P1of the first differential control member 1374 rotate in the clockwisedirection.

According to this configuration of the present invention, the rotationof the second input unit 1372 does not affect the first input unit 1371and may be transmitted only to the output unit 1373 to rotate the outputpulley 1373P.

A case where the first input unit 1371 and the second input unit 1372rotates together will be described below.

When the first input pulley 1371P of the first input unit 1371 rotatesin the counterclockwise direction, the output pulley 1373P of the outputunit 1373 rotates in the counterclockwise direction; and when the secondinput pulley 1372P of the second input unit 1372 rotates in theclockwise direction, the output pulley 1373P of the output unit 1373rotates in the counterclockwise direction. Thus, when the first inputpulley 1371P of the first input unit 1371 and the second input pulley1372P of the second input unit 1372 rotate in opposite directions, theoutput pulley 1373P of the output unit 1373 rotates as much as the sumof the two rotating forces. On the other hand, when the first inputpulley 1371P of the first input unit 1371 and the second input pulley1372P of the second input unit 1372 rotate in the same direction, theoutput pulley 1373P of the output unit 1373 rotates as much as thedifference between the two rotating forces.

Thus, according to the present invention, when only one of the two ormore input units rotates, only the output unit may be rotated withoutrotating other input units. Also, when the two or more input unitsrotate together, a single rotating force equal to the sum of (or thedifference between) the rotating forces of the two input units may beoutput through the output unit.

Other examples of the second modification of the differential pulley ofthe surgical instrument will be described below. FIGS. 13A to 13E areviews illustrating other examples of the second modification of thedifferential pulley illustrated in FIG. 18. In FIGS. 13A to 13E, thefirst input and the second input are omitted, and first differentialcontrol members 1374 a to 1374 e, second differential control members1375 a to 1375 e, output units 1373 a to 1373 e, and differentialcontrol wires 1376 a to 1376 e connecting them are illustrated. Althoughtheir external shapes are slightly different from each other, therespective examples are substantially identical to the secondmodification of the differential pulley of FIGS. 10 to 12 in that whenthe first input unit (not illustrated) rotates, the first differentialcontrol members 1374 a to 1374 e translate vertically to rotate thedifferential control wires 1376 a to 1376 e to rotate the output units1373 a to 1373 e, and when the second input unit (not illustrated)rotates, the second differential control members 1375 a to 1375 etranslate vertically to rotate the differential control wires 1376 a to1376 e to rotate the output units 1373 a to 1373 e.

The differential pulley of the third modification is a modification ofthe differential pulley illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B, and an exampleof applying the differential pulley of the third modification to thesurgical instrument will not be described herein.

<Third Modification of Differential Pulley> (D4)

FIGS. 14 and 15 are views illustrating a third modification of thedifferential pulley of the surgical instrument 100 illustrated in FIG.2.

As described above, the differential pulley according to the presentinvention includes two or more input units and one output unit, andoutputs rotating forces, which are input from the two or more inputunits, as a desired rotating force, while each of the two or more inputunits does not affect other input units.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, the third modification of the differentialpulley of the surgical instrument includes a first input unit 1381, asecond input unit 1382, an output unit 1383, and a connector 1384.

The first input unit 1381 includes a first rotating axis 1381 a and afirst input pulley 1381 b, and the first input pulley 1381 b is coupledwith the first rotating axis 1381 a to rotate around the first rotatingaxis 1381 a.

The second input unit 1382 includes a second rotating axis 1382 a andtwo second input pulleys 1382 b facing each other, and the two secondinput pulleys 1382 b are not coupled with the second rotating axis 1382a and rotate around the second rotating axis 1382 a. The first inputunit 1381 is formed to extend from the second input pulley 1382 b. Thatis, since the first input pulley 1381 b is connected to the second inputpulley 1382 b by a connecting member (not illustrated), when the secondinput pulley 1382 b rotates, the first input unit 1381, including thefirst input pulley 1381 b connected therewith, rotates.

The output unit 1383 includes a third rotating axis 1383 a and an outputpulley 1383 b, and the output pulley 1383 b is coupled with the thirdrotating axis 1383 a to rotate around the third rotating axis 1383 a.

The connector 1384 includes a fourth rotating axis 1384 a and twoconnecting pulleys 1384 b facing each other, and the two connectingpulleys 1384 b are not coupled with the fourth rotating axis 1384 a androtate around the fourth rotating axis 1384 a.

A differential control wire 1385 is formed to sequentially contact theoutput unit 1383, one of the two connecting pulleys 1384 b, one of thetwo input pulleys 1382 b, the first input pulley 1381 b, the other ofthe two second input pulleys 1382 b, the other of the two connectingpulleys 1384 b, and the output unit 1383 and rotate along the outputunit 1383, the connector 1384, the second input unit 1382, and the firstinput unit 1381.

Although not illustrated, a coupling member (not illustrated) connectingthe first input unit 1381 and the second input unit 1382 may be furtherprovided. The first rotating axis 1381 a of the first input unit 1381and the second rotating axis 1382 a of the second input unit 1382 may beconnected to the coupling member. Since the coupling member and thesecond rotating axis 1382 a are fixedly coupled, when the secondrotating axis 1382 a rotates, the coupling member and the first inputunit 1381 connected therewith rotate together therewith. On the otherhand, since the coupling member and the first rotating axis 1381 a arenot fixedly coupled, even when the first rotating axis 1381 a rotates,the coupling member may not rotate.

An operation of the third modification of the differential pulley willbe described below.

First, a case where the first input unit 1381 rotates will be describedbelow. When the first input pulley 1381 b of the first input unit 1381rotates around the first rotating axis 1381 a, the differential controlwire 1385 and the first input pulley 1381 b rotate together by africtional force or a fixed point and thus the differential control wire1385 wound around the two second input pulleys 1382 b and the connectingpulley 1384 b also move. Consequently, the output pulley 1383 b of theoutput unit 1383 connected to the opposite side of the differentialcontrol wire 1385 also rotate around the third rotating axis 1383 a. Inthis case, the two second input pulleys 1382 a and the two connectingpulleys 1384 b, around which the moving differential control wire 1385is wound, also rotate together.

A case where the second input unit 1382 rotates will be described below.When the second input pulley 1382 b of the second input unit 1382rotates around the second rotating axis 1382 a in the state of FIG. 14,the first input unit 1381 rotates around the second rotating axis 1382 ain the counterclockwise direction as illustrated in FIG. 15. In thiscase, when there is no rotation input to the first input unit 1381 andthus the rotation of the differential control wire 1385 wound around thefirst input pulley 1381 b is relatively small on the first rotating axis1381 a, the differential control wire 1385 wound around the firstrotating axis 1381 a rotates around the second rotating axis 1382 a.Accordingly, the differential control wire 1385 wound around the twosecond input pulleys 1382 b is pulled and extended to rotate the twosecond input pulleys 1382 b. The movement of the differential controlwire 1385 on the two second input pulleys 1382 b causes the twoconnecting pulleys 1384 b and the output pulley 1383 b to rotate.

Thus, according to the present invention, the rotation of one of the twoor more input units may lead to the rotation of the output unit withoutrotating other input units. Also, when the two or more input unitsrotate together, a single rotating force equal to the sum of (or thedifference between) the rotating forces of the two input units may beoutput through the output unit.

The third modification of the differential pulley is different from thefirst and second modifications of the differential pulley in that oneinput unit is provided on the rotating axis of another input unit andthe position of the input unit rotates according to another rotationinput. That is, while the input units are disposed independently of eachother in the first and second modifications of the differential pulley,one input unit is disposed on a coordinate system of another input unitin the third modification of the differential pulley. As an example ofthis, in a second embodiment, one operation input unit is provided onanother operation input unit, and the operation input unit also rotatesor moves together when the other operation input unit rotates or moves.

Although it is illustrated that the output unit 1383, the connector1384, the second input unit 1382, and the first input unit 1381 aresequentially arranged in the order stated, the present invention is notlimited thereto. For example, the positions of the connector 1384 andthe second input unit 1382 may be interchanged with each other. Also inthis case, the first input pulley may be connected to the second inputpulley by a connecting member (not illustrated), and when the secondinput pulley rotates, the first input pulley of the first input unit andthe connecting pulley of the connector connected thereto may rotatetogether therewith.

The differential pulley of the third modification is a modification ofthe differential pulley illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B, and an exampleof applying the differential pulley of the third modification to thesurgical instrument will not be described herein.

<Differential Gear>

FIG. 16 is a view illustrating a surgical instrument 100 g according toa modification of the operating force transmitter 130 of the surgicalinstrument 100 illustrated in FIG. 2, and FIG. 17 is a detailed view ofa differential gear of FIG. 16. Since the surgical instrument 100 gaccording to a modification of the operating force transmitter 130 ofthe first embodiment of the present invention is similar to the surgicalinstrument 100 according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention and is different from the surgical instrument 100 in terms ofthe configuration of the operating force transmitter 130, theconfiguration of the operating force transmitter 130 will be mainlydescribed below.

In this modification, a differential gear is used instead of thedifferential pulleys of FIGS. 2 and 4A. That is, the differential gearof the surgical instrument 100 g illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17 may beconsidered as a structure in which the pulley and wire of thedifferential pulley of the surgical instrument 100 illustrated in FIG.4A are replaced with a gear.

Referring to FIGS. 16 and 17, the surgical instrument 100 g according toa modification of the operating force transmitter 130 of the firstembodiment of the present invention includes an operator 110, an endtool 120, an operating force transmitter 130, and a connector (notillustrated). The operating force transmitter 130 includes a firstdifferential gear 151 and a second differential gear 152.

In detail, the first differential gear 151 includes a first input unit1511, a second input unit 1512, and an output unit 1513.

The first input unit 1511 includes a first pulley 1511 a and a firstgear 1511 b. The first pulley 1511 a and the first gear 1511 b rotatetogether around the same rotating axis. Herein, the first pulley 1511 aof the first input unit 1511 is connected with the first pulley 1121 aof the yaw operator 112 by the YC1 wire 135YC1 to transmit a rotation ofthe yaw operator 112 to the first input unit 1511. Also, the first gear1511 b of the first input unit 1511 is connected with the output unit1513 to transmit a rotation of the first input unit 1511 to the outputunit 1513.

The second input unit 1512 includes a second pulley 1512 a and a secondgear 1512 b. The second pulley 1512 a and the second gear 1512 b rotatetogether around the same rotating axis. Herein, the second pulley 1512 aof the second input unit 1512 is connected with the first pulley 1131 aof the actuation operator 113 by the AC1 wire 135AC1 to transmit arotation of the actuation operator 113 to the second input unit 1512.Also, the second gear 1512 b of the second input unit 1512 is connectedwith the output unit 1513 to transmit a rotation of the second inputunit 1512 to the output unit 1513.

The output unit 1513 includes an output pulley 1513 a, an extensionportion 1513 b, and a differential control gear 1513 c. Herein, theoutput pulley 1513 a of the output unit 1513 is connected with theoperator control member 115 by the J12 wire 135J12 to transmit arotation of the output unit 1513 to the first jaw 121 of the end tool120 through the operator control member 115. The extension portion 1513b extends in one direction from a rotating axis of the output pulley1513 a to rotate around the rotating axis of the output pulley 1513 aalong with the output pulley 1513 a. The extension portion 1513 b isinserted through the differential control gear 1513 c such that thedifferential control gear 1513 c rotates around the extension portion1513 b.

Herein, the first input unit 1511, the second input unit 1512, and theoutput unit 1513 rotate independently around independent axes.

Herein, the first differential gear 151 includes the first input unit1511, the second input unit 1512, and the output unit 1513, receives aninput of rotating forces from the first input unit 1511 and the secondinput unit 1512, and outputs the sum of (or the difference between) therotating forces through the output unit 1513. That is, when only thefirst input unit 1511 rotates, the rotation of the first input unit 1511is output through the output unit 1513; when only the second input unit1512 rotates, the rotation of the second input unit 1512 is outputthrough the output unit 1513; when the first input unit 1511 and thesecond input unit 1512 rotate in the same direction, the sum of therotations of the first input unit 1511 and the second input unit 1512 isoutput through the output unit 1513; and when the first input unit 1511and the second input unit 1512 rotate in opposite directions, thedifference between the rotations of the first input unit 1511 and thesecond input unit 1512 is output through the output unit 1513. This maybe expressed as the following equation:

(where C denotes a rotation of an output unit, A denotes a rotation of afirst input unit, and B denotes a rotation of a second input unit.)

By the first differential gear 151 and the second differential gear 152,even when the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113 rotatefreely, the output unit of each differential gear rotates independentlyof the rotations of the yaw operator 112 and the actuation operator 113.Consequently, the output unit of each differential gear moves as much asthe sum of (or the difference between) the rotations of the yaw operator112 and the actuation operator 113 to extract a desired rotating force.

<First Modification of Differential Gear>

FIG. 18 is a view illustrating a first modification of the differentialgear of FIG. 16.

As described above, the differential gear according to the presentinvention includes two or more input units and one output unit, receivesan input of rotating forces from the two or more input units, extracts adesired rotating force from the sum of (or the difference between) theinput rotating forces, and outputs the desired rotating force throughthe output unit.

Referring to FIG. 18, the first modification of the differential gear ofthe surgical instrument includes a first input unit 1561, a second inputunit 1562, an output unit 1563, and a differential control member 1564.The first modification of the differential gear of the surgicalinstrument illustrated in FIG. 18 may be considered as a structure inwhich the pulley and wire in the first modification of the differentialpulley of the surgical instrument illustrated in FIG. 7 are replacedwith a gear.

The first input unit 1561 includes a first pulley 1561P, a first gear1561G, and a first input wire 1561W. The first pulley 1561P and thefirst gear 1561G are connected by the first input wire 1561W, so thatthe first gear 1561G moves vertically when the first pulley 1561Protates.

The second input unit 1562 includes a second pulley 1562P, a second gear1562G, and a second input wire 1562W. The second pulley 1562P and thesecond gear 1562G are connected by the second input wire 1562W, so thatthe second gear 1562G moves vertically when the second pulley 1562Protates.

The output unit 1563 includes an output pulley 1563P and an output wire1563W. The output pulley 1563P and the differential control member 1564are connected by the output wire 1563W. Thus, when the differentialcontrol member 1564 translates, the output pulley 1563P connected withthe differential control member 1564 by the output wire 1563W rotates.

The differential control member 1564 includes a differential controlgear 1564G and a differential control base 1564B. The differentialcontrol gear 1564G is formed to engage with the first gear 1561G and thesecond gear 1562G. Thus, when the first gear 1561G and the second gear1562G move vertically, the differential control gear 1564G rotates andtranslates vertically. That is, the first gear 1561G and the second gear1562G function as a rack, and the differential control gear 1564Gfunctions as a pinion. Thus, the differential control member 1564 maytranslate in the direction of an arrow T of FIG. 18. For example, thedifferential control base 1564B of the differential control member 1564may be installed on a guide rail (not illustrated), so that thedifferential control member 1564 may translate along the guide rail inthe direction of the arrow T of FIG. 18.

Thus, according to the present invention, when only one of the two ormore input units rotates, only the output unit may be rotated withoutrotating other input units. Also, when the two or more input unitsrotate together, a single rotating force equal to the sum of (or thedifference between) the rotating forces of the two input units may beoutput through the output unit.

<Second Modification of Differential Gear>

FIG. 19 is a view illustrating a second modification of the differentialgear of FIG. 16.

As described above, the differential gear according to the presentinvention includes two or more input units and one output unit, receivesan input of rotating forces from the two or more input units, extracts adesired rotating force from the sum of (or the difference between) theinput rotating forces, and outputs the desired rotating force throughthe output unit.

Referring to FIG. 19, the second modification of the differential gearof the surgical instrument includes a first input unit 1571, a secondinput unit 1572, an output unit 1574, and a differential control member1573.

In detail, the first input unit 1571 and the second input unit 1572 maybe provided in the form of a gear that may rotate around a centralrotating axis 1575. In particular, the second input unit 1572 isprovided in the form of a gear that has sawteeth inside a pitchcylinder, and the differential control member 1573 is provided to engagewith the gears of the first input unit 1571 and the second input unit1572. The differential control member 1573 may rotate around adifferential control member gear axis 1573 a that is connected to theoutput unit 1574. The output unit 1574 may rotate around the centralrotating axis 1575.

When only the first input unit 1571 rotates, the differential controlmember 1573 engaged with the gear teeth rotates around the differentialcontrol member gear axis 1573 a and simultaneously rotates around thecentral rotating axis 1575 of the output unit 1574 connected to thedifferential control member gear axis 1573 a. Also, when only the secondinput unit 1572 rotates, the differential control member 1573 engagedwith the gear teeth rotates around the differential control member gearaxis 1573 a and simultaneously rotates around the central rotating axis1575 of the output unit 1574 connected to the differential controlmember gear axis 1573 a. When the first input unit 1571 and the secondinput unit 1572 rotate in the same direction, the differential controlmember 1573 and the output unit 1574 rotate around the central rotatingaxis 1575 in the same direction. In this case, the differential controlmember 1573 may not rotate around the differential control member gearaxis 1573 a.

On the other hand, when the first input unit 1571 and the second inputunit 1572 rotate in opposite directions, the differential control member1573 and the output unit 1574 may not rotate around the central rotatingaxis 1575. In this case, the differential control member 1573 may rotatearound the differential control member gear axis 1573 a.

Thus, according to the present invention, a single rotating force equalto the sum of (or the difference between) the rotation inputs of two ormore input units may be output through the output unit.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those ofordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims. The exemplary embodimentsshould be considered in descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined not by thedetailed description of the invention but by the appended claims, andall differences within the scope will be construed as being included inthe present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The differential members according to the embodiments of the presentinvention may be used in a surgical instrument that may be manuallyoperated to perform laparoscopic operations or various surgicaloperations.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A differential member comprising: two ormore input units each receiving an input of an amount of rotation motionor translation motion from outside; an output unit outputting a singlerotation motion or translation motion based on rotation motions ortranslation motions input to the two or more input units; and adifferential control member connecting the two or more input units andthe output unit; wherein a rotation motion or translation motion of atleast a portion of the differential control member is generated byrotation motions or translation motions input to the two or more inputunits, and the output unit translates or rotates by a sum of or adifference between the rotation motions or translation motions input tothe two or more input units, by the rotation motion or translationmotion of at least a portion of the differential control member.
 2. Adifferential member comprising: two or more input units each receivingan input of an amount of rotation motion or translation motion fromoutside; and an output unit outputting a single rotation motion ortranslation motion based on rotation motions or translation motionsinput to the two or more input units, wherein the two or more inputunits rotate or translate independently.
 3. A differential membercomprising: two or more input units each receiving an input of an amountof rotation motion or translation motion from outside; and an outputunit outputting a single rotation motion or translation motion based onrotation motions or translation motions input to the two or more inputunits, wherein when an amount of rotation motion or translation motionis input to only one of the two or more input units, the input rotationmotion or translation motion is transmitted only to the output unit. 4.A differential member comprising: two or more input units each receivingan input of an amount of rotation motion or translation motion fromoutside; and an output unit outputting a single rotation motion ortranslation motion based on rotation motions or translation motionsinput to the two or more input units, wherein when an amount of rotationmotion or translation motion is input to each of the two or more inputunits, a sum of or a difference between the rotation motions ortranslation motions input to the two or more input units is outputthrough the output unit.
 5. The differential member of claim 4, whereinthe rotation motion or translation motion output through the output unitis calculated by a following equation:C=αA±βB where C denotes an amount of rotation motion or an amount oftranslation motion output through the output unit, A and B denote anamount of rotation motions or an amount of translation motions inputthrough the two or more input units, and α and β denote weights of theinput amounts.
 6. A differential member comprising: two or more inputunits each receiving an input of an amount of rotation motion ortranslation motion from outside; and an output unit outputting a singlerotation motion or translation motion based on rotation motions ortranslation motions input to the two or more input units, wherein therotation motions or translation motions input to the two or more inputunits do not interfere with each other.
 7. A differential membercomprising: two or more input units each receiving an input of an amountof rotation motion or translation motion from outside; and an outputunit outputting a single rotation motion or translation motion based onrotation motions or translation motions input to the two or more inputunits, the differential member comprising: a first input unit comprisingtwo rotating bodies and a first input wire connecting the two rotatingbodies and receiving an input of a rotation amount through any one ofthe two rotating bodies; a second input unit comprising two rotatingbodies and a second input wire connecting the two rotating bodies andreceiving an input of a rotation amount through any one of the tworotating bodies; a differential control member comprising a differentialcontrol bar, two rotating bodies respectively formed at both ends of thedifferential control bar, a differential control wire connecting the tworotating bodies, a first differential joint at which the first inputwire and the differential control wire are coupled, and a seconddifferential joint at which the second input wire and the differentialcontrol wire are coupled; an output wire having both ends connected withthe differential control member; and an output unit connected with theoutput wire and rotated by the output wire when the output wire moves.8. The differential member of claim 7, wherein the first input unitcomprises a translation motion member connected to the firstdifferential joint to receive an input of a translation motion orcomprises two rotating bodies and a first input wire connecting the tworotating bodies to receive an input of a rotation motion, wherein thefirst input wire and the differential control wire are coupled at thefirst differential joint to receive an input of a rotation motion amountthrough any one of the two rotating bodies, and the second input unitcomprises a translation motion member connected to the seconddifferential joint to receive an input of a translation motion orcomprises two rotating bodies and a second input wire connecting the tworotating bodies to receive an input of a rotation motion, wherein thesecond input wire and the differential control wire are coupled at thesecond differential joint to receive an input of a rotation motionamount through any one of the two rotating bodies.
 9. The differentialmember of claim 7, wherein when the first input unit or the second inputunit rotates, the differential control member translates to move theoutput wire to rotate the output unit.
 10. A differential membercomprising: two or more input units each receiving an input of an amountof rotation motion or translation motion from outside; and an outputunit outputting a single rotation motion or translation motion based onrotation motions or translation motions input to the two or more inputunits, the differential member comprising: a first input unit and asecond input unit receiving an input of an amount of rotation motion ortranslation motion; a first differential control member connected withthe first input unit to translate when the first input unit rotates ortranslates; a second differential control member connected with thesecond input unit to translate when the second input unit rotates ortranslates; a differential wire wound around rotating bodies provided inthe first differential control member and the second differentialcontrol member and having a portion at which at least one fixed end isformed; and an output unit connected with at least a portion of thedifferential wire to rotate when the differential wire moves.
 11. Thedifferential member of claim 10, wherein when the first input unit andthe second input unit rotate or translate, the first differentialcontrol member and the second differential control member connectedtherewith translate, and when the first differential control member andthe second differential control member translate, the differential wireconnected therewith moves to rotate the output unit.
 12. Thedifferential member of claim 10, wherein the first differential controlmember comprises a first rotating body, a second rotating body, and afirst differential control bar connecting the first rotating body andthe second rotating body, the second differential control membercomprises a first rotating body, a second rotating body, and a seconddifferential control bar connecting the first rotating body and thesecond rotating body, and the differential wire is wound along the firstrotating body of the first differential control member, the secondrotating body of the second differential control member, the secondrotating body of the first differential control member, and the firstrotating body of the second differential control member.
 13. Thedifferential member of claim 12, wherein each of the first rotating bodyand the second rotating body of the first differential control member isconnected with the first input unit such that the first differentialcontrol member translates as the first rotating body and the secondrotating body of the first differential control member rotate when thefirst input unit translates or rotates, and each of the first rotatingbody and the second rotating body of the second differential controlmember is connected with the second input unit such that the seconddifferential control member translates as the first rotating body andthe second rotating body of the second differential control memberrotate when the second input unit translates or rotates.
 14. Thedifferential member of claim 10, wherein the first input unit comprisesa translation motion member connected with the first differentialcontrol member to receive an input of a translation motion, and thesecond input unit comprises a translation motion member connected withthe second differential control member to receive an input of atranslation motion.
 15. The differential member of claim 10, wherein onepoint of the differential wire and one point of the output unit arefixedly coupled such that the output unit rotates when the differentialwire moves.
 16. The differential member of claim 10, wherein the fixedend of the differential wire and the output unit are formed on oppositesides with respect to each of the first differential control member andthe second differential control member.
 17. A differential membercomprising: two or more input units each receiving an input of an amountof rotation motion or translation motion from outside; and an outputunit outputting a single rotation motion or translation motion based onrotation motions or translation motions input to the two or more inputunits, the differential member comprising: a first input unit and asecond input unit formed to rotate independently of each other toreceive a rotation amount; an output unit comprising an output rotatingbody formed to rotate around a rotating axis, an extension portionformed to extend in one direction from the rotating axis of the outputrotating body and rotate along with the output rotating body, and afirst differential control rotating body and a second differentialcontrol rotating body formed at one end portion of the extensionportion, formed to rotate around an axis making a predetermined anglewith the rotating axis of the output rotating body, and formed to faceeach other; and a differential control wire connecting the first inputunit, the first differential control rotating body, the second inputunit, and the second differential control rotating body.
 18. Thedifferential member of claim 17, wherein when rotation amounts are inputrespectively to the first input unit and the second input unit, thedifferential control wire is sequentially wound along the first inputunit, the first differential control rotating body, the second inputunit, and the second differential control rotating body to rotate theoutput unit by a sum of or a difference between the rotation amountsinput respectively to the first input unit and the second input unit.19. The differential member of claim 17, wherein when a rotation motionamount is input to each of the first input unit and the second inputunit, the differential control wire connected thereto moves, the firstdifferential control rotating body or the second differential controlrotating body connected to the differential control wire rotates, andthe output rotating body connected with the first differential controlrotating body and the second differential control rotating body rotates.20. A differential member comprising: two or more input units eachreceiving an input of an amount of rotation motion or translation motionfrom outside; and an output unit outputting a single rotation motion ortranslation motion based on rotation motions or translation motionsinput to the two or more input units, the differential membercomprising: a first input unit comprising a first rotating axis and afirst input rotating body rotating along with the first rotating axis; asecond input unit comprising a plurality of second input rotating bodiesformed to connect with the first input rotating body on one side of thefirst input unit, formed to face each other, and formed to rotate arounda second rotating axis; a connector comprising a plurality of connectingrotating bodies formed on one side of the second input unit, formed toface each other, and formed to rotate around a fourth rotating axis; anoutput unit connecting with the connector and rotating along with athird rotating axis; and a differential control wire formed tosequentially contact the output unit, one of the two connecting rotatingbodies, one of the two second input rotating bodies, the first inputrotating body, the other of the two second input rotating bodies, theother of the two connecting rotating bodies, and the output unit androtate along the output unit, the connector, the second input unit, andthe first input unit.
 21. The differential member of claim 20, furthercomprising a coupling member connecting the first input unit and thesecond input unit, wherein the first rotating axis and the secondrotating axis are connected to the coupling member, wherein the couplingmember and the second rotating axis are fixedly coupled and the couplingmember and the first rotating axis are not fixedly coupled.
 22. Thedifferential member of claim 20, wherein the first input unit, thesecond input unit, the connector, and the output unit are sequentiallydisposed such that the first input unit and the second input unit areformed to rotate together around the second rotating axis.
 23. Thedifferential member of claim 20, wherein the first input unit, theconnector, the second input unit, and the output unit are sequentiallydisposed such that the first input unit, the connector, and the secondinput unit are formed to rotate together around the second rotatingaxis.
 24. A differential member comprising: two or more input units eachreceiving an input of an amount of rotation motion or translation motionfrom outside; and an output unit outputting a single rotation motion ortranslation motion based on rotation motions or translation motionsinput to the two or more input units, comprising one or moredifferential gears each comprising: two or more input units receiving aninput of a rotation amount from the operator from outside; and an outputunit outputting a single amount of rotation based on the amounts ofrotation input to the two or more input units.
 25. The differentialmember of claim 24, wherein the one or more differential gears eachcomprise: a first input unit comprising a first gear; a second inputunit comprising a second gear facing the first gear; and an output unitcomprising an output rotating body formed to rotate around a rotatingaxis, an extension portion formed to extend in one direction from therotating axis of the output rotating body and rotate along with theoutput rotating body, and a differential control gear formed to rotatearound the extension portion and formed to engage with the first gearand the second gear.
 26. The differential member of claim 24, whereinthe one or more differential gears each comprise: a first input unitcomprising a first rotating body and a first gear connected with thefirst rotating body through a first input wire to translate when thefirst rotating body rotates; a second input unit comprising a secondrotating body and a second gear connected with the second rotating bodythrough a second input wire to translate when the second rotating bodyrotates; a differential control member comprising a differential controlgear formed to engage with the first gear and the second gear totranslate by rotation by the first gear or the second gear when thefirst gear or the second gear translates; and an output unit connectedwith the differential control member through an output wire to berotated by the output wire when the differential control membertranslates.
 27. The differential member of claim 24, wherein the one ormore differential gears each comprise: a first input unit comprising afirst gear that translates; a second input unit comprising a second gearthat translates; a differential control member comprising a differentialcontrol gear formed to engage with the first gear and the second gear totranslate by rotation by the first gear or the second gear when thefirst gear or the second gear translates; and an output unit connectedwith the differential control member through an output wire to berotated by the output wire when the differential control membertranslates.
 28. The differential member of claim 26, wherein the firstgear and the second gear function as a rack, and the differentialcontrol gear functions as a pinion.
 29. The differential member of claim24, wherein the one or more differential gears each comprise: a firstinput unit provided in the shape of a gear formed to rotate around apredetermined axis; a second input unit accommodating the first inputunit therein and having sawteeth formed on an inner periphery thereof; adifferential control member accommodated in the second input unit andinterposed between the gear-shaped first input unit and the sawteeth ofthe second input unit; and an output unit formed to rotate around theaxis of the first input unit and provide a rotation path such that thedifferential control member rotates around the axis of the first inputunit.
 30. The differential member of claim 29, wherein the second inputunit and the output unit form an internal gear.
 31. The differentialmember of claim 27, wherein the first gear and the second gear functionas a rack, and the differential control gear functions as a pinion.